#leaping of the shrew

[cherrykitkat]

OPEN || OTA Paypal(At least £15 please) > Art > Customs (Heavily preferring money rn as I’m trying to save up for me n spirit’s thorpe park trip-) — Never got to ride it ofc, rip king

[quantum-cat]

The Wait, I've Seen this Scene Somewhere Before Series

You're Viewing - Quantum Leap S05 E03: Leaping of the Shrew Check Out - Star Trek Enterprise: S02 E11 Precious Cargo

[dumbbitchenergy17]

Clan of Three - Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: The Mines of Mandalore

Plot: A Mandalorian, an infant with a history of the jedi, and a teenager with similar powers and a heavy role to bear. Now reunited their journeys across the galaxy are just beginning to complete their final mission.

Word Count: 5.5K

Pairing: Father Figure!Din Djarin x Platonic!Teen!Reader

Warnings: some wholesome moments, light violence/blood, Din being such a father

------

The Boonta Eve is in full swing the festivities fill the streets of Mos Eisley as you fly through your home planet. Reaching the familiar hangar both you and Din land and you see Peli watching a wide grin on her face as both of your canopies open. “Whoohoo! You hear that? She’s purring like a nuzzle shrew.” Peli says

“No complaints. Still faster than I know what to do with.” Din comments and Peli laughs, “Well, I’ll tune her up, just the same. So, uh, where’s my guy?” Grogu perks up from his small port before worming his way to Din’s seat.

“Huh? There he is!” With a leap and flip in the air, he’s caught by the mechanic that exclaims in glee, “Now who taught you how to leap like a Lurmen, huh?” Both you and Din climb out of your ships as Grogu babbles at Peli.

“Was that his first word? I think he’s talking to me. Did you hear that? He said Peli.”

“We’re here on business.” Din says and Peli moves the child to her hip as she leads you further into the hangar, “Oh, are the Hutts back? Are you takin’ out Boba Fett?” She asks and Din shakes his head,

“I need a droid part.” Peli groans before turning to her pit droids, “Ugh. Boring! Hey, get the Jawas back in here before they hit the cantina. You know how Mos Eisley gets during Boonta week.” She makes a drunken impression and you smirk.

“Oh, I know my share of Boonta week.” You say, a holiday celebrated during your childhood your parents taking you to watch the pod-racing but during your time as an orphan using that time to get your latest coin and item to trade off with Jawas. Many aristocrats and wealthy figures would make appearances for the Tatooinian holiday.

“I’m looking for a replacement IG memory circuit.” Din says and Peli laughs as the Jawas are brought in, “Oh. Hey, Grandpa. They haven’t made those for a while,” She turns speaking Jawaese though much faster for you to translate you do pick up ‘memory circuit’ in the conversation. The Jawas speak amongst themselves before replying with the bad news,

“Sorry, pal, no chance cubes.” Peli says and Din looks at the Jawas, “They can’t find the part?”

The mechanic shakes her head, “Nope.” She says popping the ‘p’ in nope.

“I need my droid fixed now.” Din explains and Peli’s eyes light up as she returns the child to Din before standing beside an R5 droid, “Which is why I think you should buy this beauty here.” She pats the droid on its head as it clanks and gives frightened beeps. 

“I can’t use an astromech. I need a droid that’s rated for spelunking.” Din explains and Peli gives him a look, “Spelunking? What are you spelunking?”

“I’m going to Mandalore. I need a droid that can explore ahead of me and test the atmosphere, make sure it’s safe to breathe.” Din explains and Peli nods but you see R5 start to retreat beeping nervously,

“Okay, well…Uhuhuhuh. Hey! Get right back here. Right back here, scaredy droid. Come on now, you gotta shine,” Forcing the droid to stand in front of you and Din as she laughs, “This R5 astromech is built for adventure.” The droid beeps completely disagreeing.

“What? Of course, you are. You’re supposed to be piloting starfighters across the galaxy and fighting tyranny.” She says and the droid continues giving worried beeps, “It’s falling apart, and besides, I got no room for it on the N1.” Din says.

“We have R4 remember Di-” You start but Peli cuts you off still in businesswoman mode trying to get a good deal,

“Nonsense. R5D4 is as good as the day it came back from serving in the Rebellion. And I’ll reinstall your droid port and this little baby here can even copilot,” She says and you see the droid trembling in fear, “Hey if you don’t settle your bolts, I’ll sell you back to the Jawas. And because it’s Boonta, what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna give you this for half the price and throw in a free oil bath.”

As night falls Peli reinstalls the droid port as R5 beeps fearfully to the side before it's being put in the ship “Oh, come on now, don’t be a coward. You’re an astromech, act like one,” The droid beeps fearfully and Peli looks at the two of you as you sit in your ships, “I wouldn’t rely too much on this one. Its circuitry is a little fragile.”

“I thought you said it was built for adventure.” Din says as Peli closes both of your canopies shaking her head, “What? Sorry, I can’t hear you!” She holds her hand to her eye as the engines of both of your ships startup. You begin your take-off as Peli waves off to you,

“May the Force be with you!”

The fireworks of the city fill the dark night sky in a multitude of colors reflecting off the glass and your face. Looking over at Din seeing the colors reflect off the beskar as Grogu looks at them in awe as they go off right beside you from your height. “All right. You ready for an adventure?” Din says as you leave the planet your mission begins to travel to Mandalore. Exiting hyperspace and reaching the Mandalore system you follow beside Din as he heads toward Mandalore you can see the planet and the storms that cover the planet. R4 beeps slightly grumpy still mad at Din for bringing a new droid when it was truly capable.

“I know R4, you are more than capable of this mission. Din just does things his own way.” You say and R4 grumbles in his beeps. Looking over the planet you couldn’t help the nerves seeing the planet.

“So this is Mandalore..” You say. “Yes…it looks scary but it was once green and beautiful, back when the songs were written. It’s Mandalore, the homeworld of our people. Every Mandalorian can trace their roots back to this planet, and the beskar mines deep within.” Din says as he speaks to the two of you.

“So you were raised there like Bo-Katan?” You ask and you see him shake his head from his ship. “No, I was not raised there. I’ve never been to Mandalore. I grew up on that moon. Concordia.” You see the moon beside the planet that was Concordia, that was Din’s home planet where he grew up and was raised.

“And that’s Kalevala where we visited Bo-Katan. It’s in the same system.” Din says and you see the other planet though further away but you could see it on your navigation map. You hear Grogu babble through your comms as you move closer to Mandalore, “A Mandalorian has to understand maps and know their way around. That way, you’ll never be lost.” Making your descent instantly entering a storm as the rain pellets down on your ship harshly, the thunder rumbling as your ship shakes. Looking at your maps seeing them jam and glitch.

“Din? Din, can you hear me?” You call through your comms getting and you get cuts of his voice though mainly static, “Ke-...ep G-Gooing…d-d-don’t tur-” It cuts off as the ship continues to rattle and you hear R4 beep worried as you try looking through the storm and the failing screens,

“I think the fusion bombs disrupted the magnetic field around the planet. We might not be able to communicate with anyone outside of the atmosphere. Keep your eyes peeled R4…down here, we’re completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy.” You say as the rattling of the ship through the storm finally breaks through and you reach the planet seeing the crystalized planet all of its shards of green glass just like the small piece you got from Jawas.

“K..kid?! Can you hear me?” You hear Din’s voice cut through your comms and you sigh in relief, “I can hear you where are you?” You respond by seeing a large dome but it’s destroyed. Everything here felt familiar though you’ve never been to Mandalore before, it still felt right being here.

“Sending coordinates now,” Din responds and you get through pretty easily, and soon you find a clearing surrounded by jagged pieces of glass landing happy to see the N-1. The child coos happily seeing you in one piece inside your ship, “I’m happy to see you too.” You say as Gorgu taps on the glass.

“R5, you ready? I’m gonna need you to scout ahead and analyze the atmosphere.” Din says to the droid apart of his ship and R5 beeps fearful and disagreeing to go, “That wasn’t a question. Go over to that split in the rock, and take an air sample of the ruins below.” R5 nervously but slowly leaves the droid port as it moves a bit further away before looking back and beeping.

“The droid will be fine. I just need him to take some readings to make sure it’s safe. Don’t be a baby. Just get the samples we need, and hurry up.” Din waves to the droid and it looks at the split in the rock nervously. You hear the droid port in yours open up as R4 quickly speeds past it grumbling in binary about needing to be the only droid. Reluctantly R5 joins the other droid glad to have a companion. You look over at Din as he watches the two droids leave around the corner.

“You got R4 jealous,” You comment and he gives you a look, “Jealous it’s a droid.” The child whimpers and Din points at the scope, “Here, look. You can watch him on the scope.” You can see on your own the two blinking dots of both droids as they head further out before they completely disappear.

“R4? Buddy, you hear me? R4?” You call out in your comms as you only get static, you would jump out there to go after your droid if you knew the air was safe, “R5, come in. Do you read me? It’s probably just interference.” Grogu babbles before Din sighs, “Fine. I’ll go get him. Normally, this is droid work. I was hoping to avoid going out there. I’ll pressurize my helmet, seal yourself in your pod. Be right back.” Din explains as Grogu climbs into his pod and once Din makes sure he’s secure he climbs out of the ship before heading to yours.

“I’m gonna look for the droids,” You go to move to join him your instincts running to be by his side but he shakes, “The air may be unsafe for you without a helmet. You stay here with the child.”

“Be safe..” You say and he nods, “Don’t worry, kid, I’ll be right back.” You’re forced to watch him walk away from your ship Grogu now letting himself out of his pram sitting in the N-1. You could hear the sad cooing and the fear in his babbles and you had your own concern but you didn’t try to panic the child more.

“Din’s gonna be already…he’s strong. Nothing stops him.” You say and you hear the child’s worried noises dialing down but you keep your gaze focused on the turn just waiting for Din and the droids to turn the corner. It felt like hours and you let out a sigh of relief seeing Din turn the corner followed by the droids. Gorgu babbles happily tapping on the glass to be let out but Din shakes his head,

“Hang on, kid. Not until I check the toxicity. You got an analysis on the atmosphere yet?” Din asks and R4 beeps revealing the readings as Din looks at them shocked, “The charts were wrong. The atmosphere is breathable. Bo-Katan was right. Mandalore is not cursed.” Hearing the news you quickly open your canopy taking in the fresh air happy it wasn’t poisoned and would kill you. You felt an energy deep in the planet as you step foot on the planet for the first time,

“So this is Mandalore…” You say in awe of just the surface of the planet as you join the group out in the open, “R4 you wait at the ship in case we need a quick exit.” You say and the droid beeps happy to help and enters the X-wing. Following Din, you enter a cave seeing the large green chunks of glass before you’re led to an opening off the end of the cliff and you take in the destroyed city.

“That’s the Civic Center. This is where Bo-Katan said to go.” Din points towards the middle of the large buried city. Looking down at the large fall as you take in everything, “Ready?” Din asks and you nod letting him scoop you up before walking off the cliff. His jetpack allows for a steady free fall as Grogu follows in his pram that hovers down beside you. Descending past the mangled metal skeletons of buildings that are long destroyed you stop on a metal platform as you look further down seeing the journey you still had down. “The mines should be further down. I guess we’re on our own from here.” Continuing down entering a large well, past ancient water pipes, this must be the system leading to the mines of Mandalore soon you reached the bottom. Brought to your feet stepping on the damp ground as you take in the area around you.

“These waters should flow down to the mines, and the Living Waters within.” Din points to where the water flows before you make your way through the caves, Din used the flashlight on his helmet to light the way, Grogu with his lights built into his pram, and your form of orange light coming from the beskar saber in your hand.

The large tunnel has more water pipes branching off though no large amounts of water flow through them just a steady drip, “Look, that passage heads down.” He says as you enter a smaller tunnel. “So how would we know what these Living Waters look like?” You ask as you continue down the tunnel. This all felt too familiar, remembering the candles and lanterns lighting your path a feeling in your chest pulling you towards the large cave of water.

“You will know,” Din explains and you continue behind him you come across a pile of rubble and a smooth piece of metal sticks out. Din kneels down pulling from the ground a Mandalorian helmet the visor broke. It looked years old, rusted, and encrusted in the dirt. You felt a sense of dread too late to get Din out of the way of the trap as it encloses him. Looking at the large creature that has Din in his clutches you dodge an attack before swinging your saber it cuts through not deep enough as one of its legs hits you throwing you back. Rolling to a stand something whips through the air connecting to your shoulder looking at your shoulder and seeing a needle sticking out of your skin. Ripping it out seeing it empty as a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea rushes through you. The saber falls from your hands shut off as you collapse into the dirt. From the shadows, Gorgu now out of his pram watches Din be in a tight metal cage, and a creature appears from the large mech suit tying a chain around your arms before retreating into the suit and disappearing dragging you along with the Mandalorian.

Your vision comes to feeling your arms encased above your head groaning from the pain in your skull. Trying to move your hands feeling the rattle of a chain that pulls you from the hazy as your vision clears. In a cave with a few lights, you see ahead of you this firepit with a cage on it, as this creature pulls things out of the cage with a large staff. You see the blaster and his other weapons hit the ground and your memory rushes back. Din, you hear him groan in pain as you tug at your restraints feeling no give. Looking at your person seeing your weapons gone as well in a pile beside Din’s stuff. The creature jabs the Mandalorian before disappearing elsewhere. Hearing shuffling and you spot the small child sneaking his way in to rescue the both of you. Grogu approaches Din looking at the cage that is on a spit, you see him raise his hand attempting to free him with the Force. You see the cage shake and groan though quietly to not alert the being. It beings to lift up when a piece of machinery holding the cage snaps off a large clang alerting the creature.

“Get to Bo-Katan,” Din says weakly as the creature grabs a staff to electrocute Grogu but he jumps dodging the attack. It attempts to chase after him as Grogu raises to his pram but you kick your free foot against its metal knee as it trips slightly. It glares at you raising the staff and digging it into you as it electrocutes you. A scream rips through your body as you seize before your head falls down your body twitching from the pain. It hurt like hell, your body drained and overloaded at the same time. But the child was able to escape so the pain was worth it. You just hope he gets to Bo-Katan and gains her help. You smirk up at the creature,

“That’s all you got?” It makes a snarling sound and raises the staff jamming it back onto your body as your screams fill the air before the pain becomes too much and you fall unconscious.

The small child escapes the ruins of the civic center reaching the N-1 and closing the canopy before a reptilian creature could attack it smashing into the glass. The R5 unit looks at the small child sitting in the pilot’s seat pointing at the viewscreen at the planet that resides a Mandalorian R5 quickly understands transferring the information to R4 who beeps confused not seeing his owner return with the child. Soon both N-1 and X-Wing rise and leave Mandalore.

A tired princess of a destroyed planet rests on her throne waiting for her life to wilt away. However, a droid interrupts her moping, “Your Majesty. Unscheduled visitors.” Bo-Katan sighs seeing both the N-1 and X-Wing fly past the castle’s large open windows. Sitting up grabbing her blasters and heading towards the ship the foot droid following behind,

“Let’s get rid of him once and for all.” She says as she reaches the landing pad sees the two ships and calls out to them.

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear the last time. I want to be left alone.” The canopy for the N-1 opens revealing the lone child as it babbles and Bo-Katan looks over at the empty X-Wing only its droid in command, “What happened to them? Download the astromechs. Find out where they were.” She orders her droid as it takes the information from both astromechs. Once receiving the location she brings the two droids and the child onto her own personal ship.

“We’re going to find them little one,” Bo-Katan promises, though she felt some sympathy towards the child’s father her concern was more aimed at her own flesh and blood.

You were sure how long you were unconscious but you woke up to sharp pain. A hiss pulls from your lips as your eyes wearily open seeing a needle coming out of your arm. You hear a groan of pain and you look over to the cage Din is in seeing tubing coming from there. “Din..” You croak your voice hoarse from the pain of being electrocuted.

You see the creature return coming over to a droid and starting it up seeing it being to pump, a hiss comes from your mouth and you hear a groan come from Din. Looking at the needle your eyes widen seeing your blood being drained by it and you can assume it’s not going to stop. Pulling at your chains trying to force the needle to be ripped out only for the blood to be drained faster. You can feel your body grow weaker from the energy being put in and the quickly draining blood. A blaster bolt hits the pump droid stopping the extraction and you let your head fall trying to stop the black spots from filling your vision. You hear footsteps and gentle hands cupping your face, “Y/n?! Can you hear me?” You’re surprised to see the bright orange hair and the woman’s face. You spot the creature sneaking up behind her with the electric staff,

“Be..behind.” You mumble and Bo-Katan realizes and was able to dodge the attack but is hit multiple times stunning her as she groans in pain. Rolling on the ground grab the Darksaber igniting it as your head falls back down. You hear the struggles of fighting before a large sound of metal being cut and it grows silent. Bo-Katan comes over to you pulls the needle out of your arm and starts working on the chains but you weakly shake your head, “Din…” Your grand-aunt sighs before going to help the Mandalorian as you rest your head back trying to get rid of the waves of dizziness but soon fail falling back unconscious.

“Din, are you okay? Can you hear me?” Bo-Katan asks looking around at the cage and seeing him lying on his stomach she couldn’t even tell if he was breathing, “It’s Bo-Katan. I’m gonna get you out of here, all right? Can you move at all?” The Mandalorian mumbles something but she shakes her head,

“Din, I can’t hear you. Are you trying to say something?” The Mandalorian weakly speaks two words, “Behind you.”

Bo-Katan barely dodges the attack of the creature in the large mech suit it was not dead the first time. The large suit stomps trying to crush Bo-Katan as she rolls out of the way cutting off one of the limbs. It brings a leg dodge but she brings up her shield deflecting the attack. With much more grace than Din has even wielded the blade she has ease chopping off the limbs before chopping the head of the machine. Before the cyborg creature could try to escape again Bo-Katan stabs the creature straight through its mechanical/organic head.

A fire crackles far away from the caves as the once-trapped Mandalorian begins to stir away. Din wakes up groaning in pain holding his head and taking in the new location as he sees the female Mandalorian tend to the fire, “What happened?” He asks looking seeing the small child beside him babbling happily and seeing his father awake.

“I saved your life.” Bo-Katan says and Din notices one person missing trying to sit up faster but groans in pain, “Relax she’s alright just still asleep.” Bo-Katan gestures over to your sleeping body Din sighs in relief seeing you alright. He had heard your cries of pain that was inflicted on you but he was useless in helping you. Bo-Katan with the help of the small child had to take two trips to first bring you to safety and set up camp while the child stayed with his father before Bo-Katan returned to bring them both to the set camp.

“How did you find me?” Din asks getting himself into a sitting position, “Your kid. He’s tougher than he looks.” She points to the small child who sputters entranced by the small fire, the flames though much larger than him, “And he’s quite the navigator.” She adds and Din nods,

“Thank you for rescuing me. You were right. Mandalore is not cursed.”

“Was I? Look around. There’s nothing left. A great society is now a memory. I once ruled here for a brief time,” Bo-Katan says reminiscing old and dead memories, “Now, it’s destroyed. Nothing to cling to but ashes.” She sighs getting up holding a small cup filled with a mystery liquid Din looks at it curiously,

“What is this?”

“You’ve never eaten pog soup?” She says shocked and Din shakes his head, “No.”

Bo-Katan chuckles at the irony, “Can you appreciate the irony? Any Mandalorian worth their armor was raised on this since they were his size. You should rest. I’ll get you back to my ship soon enough.” She explains as Din drinks part of the soup lifting his helmet slightly though not revealing his face before giving the rest of the soup to Grogu. He rises with a groan shaking his head,

“I’m not going with you.” He says and Bo-Katan watches him behind to put his weapons and jetpack back on him, “What are you talking about?”

“I must continue to the Mines of Mandalore so that I may be redeemed.” He says finishing by grabbing the darksaber to return to you.

“I honestly think that it’s adorable that you actually believe these children’s stories. But there is nothing magic about the waters.” She says trying to convince him to but he was already on a mission he was not going to drift from.

“Without the Creed, what are we?” He asks her moving to the fire grabbing the last cup of the pog soup and moving towards the sleeping girl, “What do we stand for? Our people are scattered like stars in the galaxy. The Creed is how we survived. You rescued me and I’ll always be in your debt. But I can’t go with you until I fulfill my obligation.” He kneels down and slowly shakes the girl awake.

You feel a gentle caress on your head as you stir from a dreamless sleep, “Come on kid,” You hear Din’s voice as you slowly blink your eyes open a groan coming deep in your chest as you see him kneel down beside you.

“Din..” You whisper as he helps you to sit before he holds out a cup, “Drink. Regain your strength.” He says as you accept the cup drinking what is soup as he looks over you taking any injuries you might have sustained but you just look tired. Bo-Katan watches the gentleness that the Mandalorian gives to you. How the fierce warrior that fought against the Imperials and many bounty hunters and lived act so soft around a small green infant and her own grand-niece.

“I will take you.” She says and you both look over at Bo-Katan, unsure what the context was of their conversation.

“To the Living Waters?” You ask and Bo-Katan nods, “Yes. You’d never find them on your own. Not in all this wreckage.” She says and Din nods,

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me until you see them.” She says and soon you begin your journey once more through the ruins of the old city. The place seemed trapped in time the ruins holding the history of this planet or the few Mandalorians that escaped the purge. Everything felt familiar and welcoming about this place, never once have you stepped foot on Mandalore but it feels like you were returning after years of being apart. An unknown force connects you to this place as Bo-Katan leads you through the city ruins.

“It’s hard to believe that this all was once filled with our kind,” Din says as he takes in the ruins of the once glorious city. It was rare to see a Mandalorian in the same system or planet but having them all together cultivating a planet, growing up, and raising foundlings here, Din couldn’t believe it. He wishes the planet was in its state of prosperity, he would raise you and the child here as foundlings, and you would be back on the planet of your ancestors.

“It wasn’t that long ago. You’d never know it looking at all this destruction.” Bo-Katan says taking in the ruins.

“It looks like it’s been centuries.” You say spinning around while walking and looking at the buildings that are high above you, you imagine Mandalorians traveling by jetpacks or trains and speeders. The people in their armor with pride. You try to imagine your father, being born here. You wonder what he would say if he knew you return to his homeworld, did he wear Mandalorian armor? Did he speak the Creed and Walk the Way?

“The Empire set out to punish us. To wipe away our memory.” Bo-Katan says and Din glances over at the woman, “It must pain you to see it like this after witnessing its beauty.”

Bo-Katan is silent before speaking up, “What pains me is seeing our own kind fight one another time and time again. Killing each other for reasons too confusing to explain. It made us weak. We had no hope to resist being smashed by the fist of the Empire. There. The entrance to the Mines of Mandalore.” She points ahead and you see a tall entrance before you that still remains intact.

“olaror adiik…at te oya'la pirun” (come child…to the living water) A chorus of whispers calls out to you, and the harmony of voices graces your skin. An electric feeling dances along your body the hair on your skin standing feeling the presence. It was the same feeling as you felt that energy from your dream as Din spoke but it felt drowned under your thoughts

“This area looks much older.” He says and the feeling of eyes watching you fade as his voice becomes clear,

“The mines have been here for thousands of years. The Living Waters are in the chambers below.” Bo-Katan explains and you look over at her, “Have you been there?” You ask and she nods,

“Yes, when I was a child.” She says before glancing at you briefly, “So was your father.” You perk up hearing the mention of your father.

“Really?” You ask wanting to know more about your family and their past. The history that connected them so deeply to this planet and its people.

“I was part of the royal family. I took the Creed and was showered with gifts. But the rituals were all just theater for our subjects. They loved watching the princess recite the Mandalorian tenets as her father looked on proudly. Such a heartwarming spectacle. Your father was the same reciting the Creed though he wanted to grow and be the right ruler to Mandalore. One that Mandalorians could fight for and alongside.” Bo-Katan says glancing at you with a nostalgic expression seeing the familiar features of her nephew on your face, “Our family thought it taboo what he believed in at such a young age. He wanted Mandalorians to know that wherever they were in the galaxy they had a home on Mandalore…” She grows quiet glancing at Din slightly, “No matter what Creed they follow.”

Your wide eyes turn to Din and you can sense the surprise coming off him, from your father’s ideals at such a young age. “He would be happy,” Bo-Katan says looking at you, “That you are home.” She says before looking away and you can tell this was a very emotion-filled conversation she hadn’t expected to have in a long time or ever. You grab her hand and she looks at you surprised,

“Thank you for telling me about my father…Your father sounds like an interesting man as well. I would’ve liked to have known him.” You say, you felt like so much of your history was hidden, with only one living relative and the planet that would hold all its secrets in ruins. You could only grasp pieces of your fragmented family legacy. Bo-Katan nods squeezing your hand in return,

“They were great men. They died defending Mandalore.” She says and you knew that even though your father didn’t die defending your planet like your great-grandfather but your father had protected you all those years ago. Keeping a piece of the Kryze Clan alive, protecting his last piece of Mandalore.

“This is the Way.” You speak the words of both Mandalorians' Creed surprising them both. Bo-Katan felt like a piece of her lost family restored with your words, the last living members of a dying clan. Din felt pride and complete shock as well as hearing you speak the words of his Creed with every intent behind it.

“This is the Way…” The two whisper back as they look at the young girl. You were of two dying worlds; the Jedi with its people massacred many years ago being the grandchild of a great Jedi Master and the Mandalorians their planet destroyed their people scattered across the galaxy grandchild of their late Duchess one of the last survivors of a clan.

“ibic cuyir te ara” The chorus echoes through the caves but you’re the only one that turns to the sound. Your hand drifts from Bo-Katan’s as you take the lead. Returning to a familiar tunnel the holders for the torches and lanterns are now destroyed you don’t even use the light from your saber letting that energy guide you. Din, Bo-Katan, and Gorgu quickly follow behind you as you are pulled into a daze turning down a complex system of tunnels as they catch glimpses of you as you move ahead.

“Kid! Wait for us!” Din yells seeing you quickly disappear around a corner of darkness the three of them having light while you travel in darkness, “She doesn’t even know where she’s going.” Din grumbles but Bo-Katan shakes her head with a surprised expression.

“She’s going the right way…” She says as the three quickly follow after the two adults confused about how you knew the way.

“ibic cuyir te ara…olaror adiik” The voices whisper again as turn down another path the darkness surrounds you but it guides you the whispering of Mando’a becoming louder and overlapping as it echoes through the tunnels until you reach an opening. A vast pool of water is accessible by a wide stone staircase. Pillars of stone though roughed by erosion, a greenish glow fills the cave from the green glass that surrounds the planet. It was just like your dream, remnants of broken lanterns make a path toward the murky waters. It’s completely silent as you look out into the water and it ripples and you sense something in there.

Lo te pirun

The voices whisper as you slowly move forward and you pull off your holster holding your blaster and vibro-knife as they fall to the ground.

To mhi

It echoes around as you pull your saber letting it clatter to the floor, the voices whisper into your ears pulling you to the water as you take a step down the water licking at your boot. You pull the Darksaber from your belt the weight heavy in your palm as you ignite the blade the light draining from the room as your gaze follows the sword-like energy coming from the blade. Whispers and haunted memories flow from the blade. Presences fill the room as a hand reaches from behind you grabbing your wrist that holds the saber you look to your side seeing a human man wearing grey Mandalorian armor with blue accents his head is shaved and his eyes a storm blue, another hand grabs your other wrist and you see a man feeling his presence in the force his black robes with red skin and black markings, his head covered in spikes and his eyes a mixture of red and yellow.

“Blood for the Mand’alor.” The Mandalorian says his hand guiding the weapon to your other hand. “Blood for the Jedi.” The red-skinned man hisses. You feel numb as the Darksaber slices across your palm feeling a muffled heat before the blade is pulled back and palm pours from your palm. The force-sensitive man holds your wrist out as the blood pours into the water a ripple of red mixing with the murky water. Your grasp on the Darksaber disappears as the men’s grasp leaves you and the weapon clatters to the ground.

“I swear on my name. And the names of the Ancestors..” The voices echo and you repeat the words as you draw deeper into the water at your hip

Ad be Kryze…kemir te ara be Manda'yaim

“That I shall walk the way of the Mand’alor… and the words of the Creed shall be forever forged in my heart.” The chorus of voices some familiar you pick but they speak in harmony as you repeat what they whisper to you.

t'adyc ad be jetiise Kenobi. t'adyc ad be Mando Kryze.

“Ibic cuyir te ara” You call out the water reaching your chest, “This is the Way.” The chorus echoes as you feel that presence in the water grows stronger.

Mand'alor be cuun adate

“It ends here Mand’alor.” “Kid!” Moff Gideon’s and Din’s voice fills your head the haze that covered you clears right as you walk off the shallow shelf and Bo-Katan and Din see you abruptly disappear in the water.

Tal kelir galar par gar

Both Din and Bo-Katan dive into the water without hesitation using their jetpacks to speed up the quickly sinking girl. Their lights look around frantically for the girl before Din notices the seemingly lifeless body of his daughter resting at the bottom of the trench. Swimming down wrapping an arm under her armpits quickly using his jetpack to assist him to get to the surface with Bo-Katan following behind as cover. Din is so focused on getting his daughter to safety as Bo-Katan watches out into the dark water when they suddenly pass a giant reptilian creature with white horns. Bo-Katan’s eyes widen when her light hits the creature seeing its eye open and staring back at the woman. A creature only told in myths said to be long dead but the symbol of its people. The mines according to folklore said to be the lair of this creature. She lets out a gasp as they speed away as she watches the large creature swim off into the darkness. The three reach the surface crashing onto the steps as Bo-Katan gasp for air while Din who also struggles to catch his breath hovers over the young girl trying to get her to wake up. Sudden coughs fill the air water expelling out of her mouth as she wheezes trying to get air back in her lungs but she was alive.

The small clan of three comforts each other from the event as the female Mandalorian stares out into the waters taking great, heaving breaths. She wasn’t sure what she saw down there or if she even saw something down there at all. They were meant to be extinct the last one seen during the age of the first Mandalore…then why did she see a mythosaur in those waters.

[dailyalcalavicci]

503 | Leaping of the Shrew, 27 September 1956

[swan-of-sunrise]

Taking Care of Business (Chapter Thirty-Three)

Summary: The notorious mechanic of Mos Eisley sells the trio a replacement droid and on Mandalore, the Clan of Three faces more than one challenging obstacle as they search for the Living Waters.

Pairing: Din Djarin X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 6k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: It’s time to finally visit our favorite mechanic and then we’re off to Mandalore! Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Three The Mines of Mandalore (Previous Chapter)

“Whoo-hoo! You hear that? She’s purring like a nuzzle shrew!”

(Y/N) grinned at Peli’s colloquial turn of phrase as she switched the starfighter’s engines off. “No complaints so far, but she’s still a little faster than I know what to do with.”

“Well, I’ll tune her up just the same,” The mechanic gave them a wide smile, showing off the gap in her teeth caused during the skirmish between Boba Fett and the Pyke Syndicate not too long ago. “So, uh, where’s my guy?” Before either (Y/N) or Din could reply, Grogu popped up from his seat on her lap and Peli clapped her hands in delight. “There he is!” The child expertly leapt out of the cockpit and into Peli’s open arms. “Now, who taught you how to leap like a Lurmen, huh?”

Din leapt down from the starfighter and extended a hand up to help (Y/N) down, lowering his modulated voice as the mechanic continued fawning over the babbling child. “You know she’s gonna try and rip us off again, right?”

“Her and every other kriffing mechanic in the galaxy, but at least she’s got a nice sense of humor,” (Y/N) shrugged and allowed him to give her a Keldabe Kiss before turning her attention back to Peli. “It’s good to see you again, Peli. How’ve you been?”

“Always so polite! You sure snagged yourself a real lady, Mando; there’s not too many of us out there in the galaxy…” Peli winked at him and (Y/N) hid her smile as he mutely stared back. “Well, it’s Boonta Week and I’ve been making a pretty good killing here, so no complaints. Are you three here for Boonta Eve?”

Din shook his head. “No, we’re here on business.”

“Oh, are the Hutts back? Are you takin’ out Boba Fett?”

“We need a droid part.”

Peli’s excited expression fell and she rolled her eyes. “Urgh, boring!” She turned to the pit droids working on a blue and silver speeder in the hangar’s corner. “Hey, get the Jawas back in here before they hit the cantina.” The pit droids chattered amongst themselves as they followed the mechanic’s order. “You know how Mos Eisley gets during Boonta week…” She held an invisible glass and mimed guzzling down a drink, much to Grogu’s amusement and Din’s exasperation.

“The Anzellans on Nevarro weren’t able to help us, but we were hoping that you’d be able to,” Din explained as Peli led them further into the hangar. “We’re looking for a replacement IG memory circuit.”

The mechanic scoffed. “Oh hey, grandpa. They haven’t made those for a while.” The pit droids led three irritated Jawas into the hangar and Peli addressed them in Jawaese, but the Jawas soon shook their hooded heads and scampered away. “Sorry, pal, no chance cubes.”

“They can’t find the part?”

“Nope.”

“We need our droid fixed now.”

(Y/N) rested a soothing hand on her husband’s beskar chestplate and gave him a gentle smile. “In the meantime, I’m sure that there’s something that Peli can do for us. We’re a couple of her favorite clients, after all.”

“Right as usual! Which is why I think you should buy this beauty here.” Peli stood beside a red and white astromech droid and patted its top, ignoring the puff of smoke and the panel popping off its center.

Din looked between the mechanic and the droid in incredulity. “We can’t use an astromech; we need a droid that’s rated for spelunking.”

“Spelunking? What are you spelunking?”

“We’re going to Mandalore,” Din explained and (Y/N) nodded. “We need a droid that can explore ahead of us and test the atmosphere, make sure it’s safe to breathe.”

Peli sighed. “Okay, well…” The frightened astromech droid started to roll backwards but was quickly spotted by the mechanic. “Uh-uh-uh-uh, get right back here! Right back here, scaredy droid! Come on, now, you gotta shine.” She chuckled and patted the droid’s top again. “This R5 astromech is built for adventure-” The astromech interrupted her with a series of timid beeps, but she only rolled her eyes. “What? Of course you are! You’re supposed to be piloting starfighters across the galaxy and fighting tyranny!”

(Y/N) looked over at Din beside her and watched as he shook his helmeted head in irritation. “It’s falling apart and besides, we’ve got no room for it on the N-1.”

“Nonsense, R5-D4 is as good as the day it came back from serving in the Rebellion! And I’ll reinstall your droid port so this little baby here can even co-pilot.” The droid shuddered and Peli fixed it with a hard glare. “Hey, if you don’t settle your bolts, I’ll sell you back to the Jawas.” She turned back to them with a toothy smile. “And because it’s Boonta, what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna give you this for half the price and throw in a free oil bath.”

Turning to face Din, (Y/N) lowered her voice and pointed out, “We don’t know how long it’ll take to track down that memory circuit or if we’ll even be able to, and an astromech could still really come in handy on Mandalore.”

Din heaved a deep sigh before looking over her shoulder at Peli. “Fine, we’ll take it.”

“I knew you’d make the smart business decision, Mando! Hey, pit droids!” Peli shouted, setting Grogu down and marching across the hangar towards their starfighter. “Bring me my tool chest and prep the oil tank, and be quick about it!”

While the mechanic barked out orders and started working on the starfighter, (Y/N) knelt in front of the timid astromech and smiled. “Hi, R5. It’s always nice to meet a fellow veteran of the Rebellion; I was a captain in the Alliance Fleet, but I never had the honor of flying with an astromech.” She picked up the panel that had popped off and carefully fixed it back on. “There you go, all fixed.” The R5 unit beeped and whistled, and she grinned at his binary message of thanks. “You’re welcome. Enjoy your oil bath!” She got to her feet and brushed the sand off her trousers as the astromech rolled away, but she stopped when she noticed Din staring at her. “What?”

“I thought you weren’t a fan of astromechs.”

“I’m usually not, but he’s a Rebellion veteran,” (Y/N) shrugged. “He might be a droid, but he chose to help us fight the Empire and his service deserves to be as appreciated as any other being’s would be.”

The Mandalorian rested a gloved hand on her waist and lowered his forehead to rest against hers. “Ner cyar’ika alor’ad. Every day since the day I met you, I’ve admired that kind heart of yours.”

(Y/N) felt her face warm at her husband’s words but before she could reply, Peli shouted across the hangar, “Hey, lovebirds! I’ll knock a couple of credits off your bill if you can tear yourselves away from one another and give us a hand over here!”

Chuckling, (Y/N) pressed a fleeting kiss onto the beskar covering Din’s mouth and scooped Grogu up into her arms. “C’mon, you two, let’s go help Peli so we can leave Tatooine before the Boonta Eve festivities get too out of hand…”

The three of them spent the afternoon reinstalling the starfighter’s droid port and tuning the engines and by the time they finished, night had fallen over Mos Eisley and its citizens had begun lighting fireworks to celebrate Boonta Eve. After a quick meal of bantha jerky and biscuits, (Y/N) and Din climbed up into the starfighter’s cockpit and as Grogu jumped up onto (Y/N)’s lap, Peli helped R5 settle into the starfighter’s new droid port.

“Oh, come on, now, don’t be a coward. You’re an astromech, act like one!” Peli scolded before fixing (Y/N) and Din with a knowing look. “I wouldn’t rely too much on this one. Its circuitry’s a little fragile.”

“I thought you said it was built for adventu-?”

The mechanic suddenly slammed the windshield shut and shouted over the engines and the fireworks exploding overhead. “What? Sorry, I can’t hear you!”

Biting her lip to keep from smiling while Din grumbled under his breath, (Y/N) steered the starfighter upwards and remarked, “Peli really is one of a kind, isn’t she?”

While her husband mumbled something in Mando’a, Peli waved alongside her pit droids and called out, “May the Force be with you!”

(Y/N) flew the starfighter over the streets of Mos Eisley and her heart warmed when she noticed Grogu watching the colorful fireworks illuminating the sky in silent awe; Din noticed too, lifting a gloved hand from her waist to stabilize the child as he sat on (Y/N)’s shoulder and pressed his little clawed hands against the windshield. “All right, kid. You ready for an adventure?”

Grogu squealed in delight and R5 anxiously beeped away in the droid port as the starfighter made its way through Tatooine’s upper atmosphere and shot off into hyperspace, charting a course to Mandalore and to Din’s imminent redemption.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, (Y/N) was nervously biting her lip and trying her hardest to think positive thoughts as the starfighter came out of hyperspace. “I knew that the Empire did a number on Mandalore, but this…?”

The planet’s surface had been completely destroyed in the Purge and from what little they could make out through the intense weather patterns sweeping through its atmosphere, it was indeed crystalized and barren of the usual signs of life. It was a sight that (Y/N) had seen time and time again throughout the Rebellion, but knowing that the planet before them was near and dear to her husband and his religion made her blood run cold and led to her silently cursing the Empire for what they’d done.

Grogu whimpered in fright but Din was quick to console him. “It looks scary, I know. But it was once green and beautiful, back when the songs were written. It’s Mandalore, the homeworld of our people; every Mandalorian can trace their roots back to this planet, and the beskar mines deep within. And you know what? I’ve never been there, either.” Din pointed to one of the planet’s distant moons. “I grew up there, on that moon. Concordia.”

“And that’s Kalevala, where we visited Bo-Katan,” (Y/N) added and gestured towards a dot on the starfighter’s scope. “It’s in the same system.”

Grogu cooed and wrapped his hand around one of Din’s fingers as the Mandalorian continued, “A Mandalorian has to understand maps and know their way around. That way, you’ll never be lost.”

Tightening her grip on the controls, (Y/N) surveyed Mandalore’s upper atmosphere with cautious eyes and nodded. “I think I can get us through all that, but it’ll be a bumpy ride.” She leaned down to press a kiss onto Grogu’s wrinkled head. “Hold on tight, little guy.” With a sharp twist of the controls, she piloted the starfighter down through the planet’s storm-filled sky, looking past the sleet and rain pummeling the windshield to avoid the sporadic lightning strikes that lit up the darkened clouds. After several tense moments, they emerged from the storm and flew across the clear skies of Mandalore’s capital city. “See? I told you I could get us through all that,” (Y/N) chuckled after breathing a sigh of relief.

“We never doubted you once, alor’ad. Did we, kid?”

Grogu cuddled up against (Y/N)’s chest and she gave his head a quick pat before smacking the starfighter’s blinking console. “Looks like the fusion bombs from the Purge disrupted the magnetic field around the planet. From the surface, we won’t be able to communicate with anyone out of atmosphere, so we have to be careful.”

She could feel Din nod behind her. “Down here, we’re completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy.”

Spotting a flat patch of crystalized earth, (Y/N) landed the starfighter down onto it and switched off the engines before addressing the astromech through the comms. “Okay, R5, we’re gonna need you to scout ahead and analyze the atmosphere.”

R5’s beeps and whistles were interrupted by an impatient Din. “That wasn’t a question.” He reached past (Y/N) and unceremoniously released the astromech from his droid port, ignoring the pointed look that (Y/N) gave him as he pointed towards a cluster of green-colored crystals nearby. “Go over to that split in the rock, and take an air sample of the ruins below.”

The three of them watched the astromech reluctantly wheel itself towards the rocks and (Y/N) stroked one of Grogu’s ears to soothe his anxious whimpers. “R5 will be fine, little guy, we just need him to take some readings to make sure it’s safe for us.”

The astromech stopped and turned his top to look back at the ship and beep. “Don’t be a baby. Just get the samples we need, and hurry up.”

“You know, it wouldn’t hurt to be just a little nicer to the poor droid. I think he’s intimidated by you…” (Y/N) pointed out but before her husband could reply, R5 disappeared from view and Grogu let out a fearful wail. “Here, Grogu, look. You can watch him on the scope.” The child watched the red dot that represented R5 move farther and farther away, and (Y/N)’s brow shot up in surprise when the dot vanished from the scope altogether. “…Dank farrik.”

“R5, come in. Do you read me?” There was only static coming through the comms. “It’s probably just interference.”

Grogu stared up at Din with eyes wide in fear and even (Y/N) was beginning to feel that something was wrong. “Sweetheart, I’ve got a bad feeling about this and so does Grogu. R5 could be in some serious trouble right now.”

Her husband looked between the both of them before sighing and giving them a nod. “Fine, I’ll go get him. Normally, this is droid work; I was hoping to avoid going out there.”

“Wait, I’m going with you-”

“Alor’ad, someone has to watch Grogu and the ship in case the droid’s disappearance is some sort of diversion.” Din lifted the edge of his helmet so he could kiss her furrowed brow. “I’ll be okay, I promise.” He waited for her to nod before reaching into one of the side compartments and pulling out a portable oxygen mask. “I’ll pressurize my helmet, but you’ll need to wear this while I open the top and Grogu, you’ll need to seal yourself in your pod.”

Grogu closed his pram and (Y/N) fastened the oxygen pack onto her blaster belt. “Be careful, Din.”

“I’ll be right back.” Din waited for her to secure the mask over her mouth and nose before opening the starfighter’s windshield and climbing down; as soon as it slid back into place, she pulled the mask off and the child emerged from his pram, his large ears drooping at the sight of the Mandalorian walking off towards the rocks in the distance.

“It’s okay, little guy, he’ll be right back,” (Y/N) reassured him, but the ominous feeling remained festering in the pit of her stomach and judging by the way Grogu was looking at her, she suspected that he felt the same way. “I don’t like this. I’m gonna go and help him, all right?” Grogu cooed and patted her hand before closing himself up in his pram again, and she took a deep breath, slipping her oxygen mask back on and climbing down from the cockpit. With a small wave to Grogu anxiously watching her, (Y/N) drew her blaster and slowly crossed the clearing to the jagged crevice in the rock. She entered the dimly-lit tunnel with the intent of quietly reconnoitering, but the sounds of battle ahead urged her forward into a run.

When she turned another corner, she was met with the terrifying sight of Din fighting off three snarling humanoid creatures; he held the Darksaber in his hand and as she watched, he cut one of the creatures along its torso and let it roll off the nearby cliff overlooking a massive cavern housing the ruins of a sprawling city. He sidestepped the second’s attack and shoved it hard over the cliff, but the third creature slammed its club against his back; before it could strike him again, (Y/N) shot it in its torso and bought Din enough time to counter its strikes and stab it through the chest with the Darksaber. He retracted the illuminated blade and pushed the corpse over the cliff as (Y/N) hurried over to him.

“I told you I didn’t have a good feeling about all this,” She joked and handed him his dropped blaster. “Are you okay?”

Din nodded, holstering his weapons and giving her hand a squeeze before gesturing to the opposite side of the tunnel. “I’m fine, and I think the droid is too.” R5 beeped and whistled in indignation as he laid on a pile of crystalized earth, and the both of them exchanged a look before striding over to him. They both righted the weighty astromech and while (Y/N) brushed off his sides, Din gave his domed top a pat. “Okay, you’re all right. Now come on, let’s get you back to the ship.”

They followed R5 out of the tunnels and crossed the clearing to the starfighter; Grogu’s face brightened in relief when they came into view and he tapped an impatient hand against the windshield as they stopped beside the ship. “Hang on, little guy. Not until we check the toxicity.”

“You got an analysis on the atmosphere yet?” Din asked the astromech. R5 replied in binary and projected a graph into the space before them, and both Din and (Y/N) exchanged a look of surprise. “The charts were wrong; the atmosphere is breathable.”

“Which means that Bo-Katan was right,” (Y/N) breathed in realization, slipping off her oxygen mask and opening the starfighter’s windshield. “Mandalore’s not cursed. It was all a lie spread by the Empire to keep the Mandalorians in exile.”

After situating Grogu in his pram and helping R5 back into the starfighter’s droid port, they drew their blasters and cautiously navigated the tunnels, their senses on high alert after Din’s ambush. They found themselves standing on the same cliff overlooking the ruined city, and they both holstered their blasters. “That’s the Civic Center; this is where Bo-Katan said to go.” He wrapped an arm around (Y/N)’s waist. “Hold on tight.”

(Y/N) flung both arms around Din’s neck just as he jumped off the cliff and activated his jetpack, pressing her face against his chestplate to avoid looking down and watching their slow descent. When their feet finally touched the ground, she leaned back far enough to meet the visor of Din’s helmet and sighed. “I still can’t help but think this would be less terrifying if I had my own jetpack.”

“You’re perfectly safe with me, alor’ad.” Her husband suddenly scooped her up so that one arm supported her back while the other curled under the crook of her knees, and she could hear the smile in his voice as she clung tighter to him. “Besides, I wouldn’t be able to hold you like this if you had your own jetpack.” (Y/N) rolled her eyes and glanced around, realizing that they were standing on a crumbling walkway only halfway down the chasm. “The mines should be further down. I guess we’re on our own from here.”

Grogu babbled in agreement from his pram and Din jumped down from the walkway, the gentle hum of the jetpack echoing off the walls and structures they passed on their way down. When they reached the bottom, Din gently set her down and she drew her blaster as he switched on his helmet’s flashlight; she studied the massive pipes that they walked past and looked down at the water dripping from the walls. “Well, I think it’s safe to assume that these waters lead down to the mines and the Living Waters. We follow the water and we’ll find the mines in no time.”

Din nudged her arm and nodded towards an opening on their left. “Look, that passage heads down.”

They climbed down the slight slope and walked through the opening, silently examining the debris littering the ground. Spotting the familiar t-shaped visor of a Mandalorian helmet poking out of the dirt, Din knelt down and (Y/N) followed as he carefully tugged the sculpted beskar loose; Grogu cooed sadly and (Y/N) rested a comforting hand on her husband’s pauldron, but before either of them could say anything, the earth around them exploded and they were tightly encased in metal brackets. The trap flipped over, pressing Din’s body into (Y/N)’s and her back against the brackets, and two needles stabbed themselves into their necks, causing (Y/N)’s vision to darken and eventually turn black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“…wake up. C’mon, alor’ad, open your eyes for me…please, (Y/N), you’ve gotta open your eyes…”

Groaning in pain, (Y/N) struggled to open her heavy eyes and when she finally succeeded, she was met with the sight of Din’s helmet directly in front of her. “D-Din? What happened?”

“Thank the Maker,” He breathed a sigh of relief. “We were caught in some sort of cyborg’s trap. I saw some beskar helmets when it brought us in here; I think it harvests Mandalorians.”

She was unable to move her head much but she could tell that their bracketed trap was suspended above the ground in a dimly-lit chamber. Before she could ask about Grogu, the cyborg approached their trap and reached a mechanized hand through the brackets to remove Din’s blaster and the Darksaber. It tossed the weapons onto the ground and chattered to itself as it crawled across the chamber; when she could no longer hear it, she shakily released the breath she’d been holding and whispered, “My blaster’s wedged between my back and the brackets, but I can’t move my arms.”

“Neither can I…” Din shifted above her and grunted in annoyance. “I don’t know what that thing injected us with, but my head feels like it’s been trampled by a bantha.”

A quiet shuffling nearby drew his attention and (Y/N)’s brow furrowed at his small gasp. “What is it, Din?”

“Grogu.” They both craned their necks to look at the child, who was standing near the trap and holding a clawed hand out towards them; he closed his eyes and after a moment’s pause, the trap began to shake but it loudly clanged against its control panel, drawing the cyborg’s attention and spurring Din into calling out, “Get to Bo-Katan!”

Grogu jumped out of the way of the electrical blast that the cyborg fired from its staff, leapt into his pram and sped out of the chamber. The cyborg disappeared into a separate area of the chamber, and (Y/N)’s eyes prickled with unshed tears. “He’s gonna be okay. He’s gonna find Bo-Katan, and we’ll be out of this mess in no time.”

“Of course we will,” Din agreed, trying his hardest to keep his voice even and calm. “We’re gonna be fine, alor’ad, I promise.”

(Y/N) wasn’t sure how long it took for her to realize that she was taking shallow breaths or that her limbs were beginning to grow numb but when she did, she couldn’t help but wheeze out a breathless chuckle. “Usually, I’m quite fond of having you on top of me but I think I prefer it without all the beskar.”

Her husband didn’t laugh or make another quip, instead trying to lift some of his weight off of her chest but to no avail. “You need to take slower breaths…regulate your breathing…do that for me, alor’ad?”

Din’s voice was cutting in and out and after (Y/N) blinked hard in an attempt to clear her eyes, she noticed the black dots starting to litter her vision. “D-Din? I can’t…can’t breathe…”

“I know, ner cyar’ika alor’ad, I know, but you’ve…eyes open for me, okay? Don’t fall asleep…”

Everything around her began to fade away, from her husband’s panicked voice and the distant creaking of the cyborg to the pain encasing her entire body, and the last thing she did was thank whatever deity that was watching over them that her end was painless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dreams of Naboo and a woman’s mournful yet beautiful singing abruptly ended when (Y/N) gasped for air, her eyes flying open and her hand reaching for her blaster when memories of their capture filled her foggy mind.

“Easy, Captain,” Bo-Katan soothed and held her hands out in a peaceful gesture; the Nite Owl was seated by a small fire beside Grogu, who squealed in delight when he saw that (Y/N) was conscious, and it appeared as though they were back on the cliff that overlooked the ruined Civic Center. “You were out for a while – lack of oxygen mixed with a bad reaction to whatever that thing injected you with – but you’re safe now.”

(Y/N) lowered her blaster and smiled a little when the child hurried over to her and crawled into her lap. “I knew you’d be able to find Bo-Katan. Good job, my little hero.” Hugging Grogu to her chest, she glanced up at Bo-Katan with a grateful nod. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The Nite Owl’s lips curved into a smile and she gestured to the cups she was heating over the fire. “I’m making pog soup; trust me, it’ll make you feel better in no time.”

Grogu cooed in interest and returned to his spot by the fire while (Y/N) looked over at the unconscious Mandalorian lying beside her; his beskar-covered chest was slowly rising and falling and when she realized that he didn’t have any visible injuries, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief before scooting closer to lean over him. “Din?” She placed a hand on the beskar covering his cheek and caressed her thumb along the metal. “Sweetheart, it’s me.”

A moment passed and Din slowly began to stir. “(Y/N)?” His gloved hand moved to hold her waist and gently tug her down into his embrace. “Maker, I thought that you’d…you wouldn’t wake up, and I thought…” He choked up, unable to finish his sentence; his free hand cupped her cheek as she rested her forehead against his in a Keldabe Kiss. “I think I’d prefer having you on top of me from now on, alor’ad.”

(Y/N) let out a watery laugh at that. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, ner cyar’ika alor’ad,” Din murmured and took hold of her hand, slipping it beneath the edge of his helmet and pressing his lips against her fingertips.

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, ner cyar’ika riduur.”

With a final smile, (Y/N) sat up and helped the Mandalorian sit next to her, and he finally looked over at where Bo-Katan was preparing the soup by the fire. “What happened?”

The Nite Owl shrugged. “I saved your lives.”

“How did you find us?”

“Your kid.” Bo-Katan smiled and nodded towards Grogu. “He’s tougher than he looks, and he’s quite the navigator.”

Din sat up straighter with (Y/N)’s help. “Thank you for rescuing us.” She nodded again but remained silent as she worked. “You were right: Mandalore is not cursed.”

“Was I?” Bo-Katan asked jadedly. “Look around, there’s nothing left. A great society is now a memory. I once ruled here for a brief time…now, it’s destroyed.” She sighed and stood, handing one cup of soup to (Y/N) and another to Din. “Nothing to cling to but ashes.”

(Y/N) drank her soup and smiled to herself when warmth returned to her limbs, but Din’s helmeted head tilted to the side in confusion as he studied the cup in his hand. “What is this?”

“You’ve never eaten pog soup?”

“…No.”

Bo-Katan chuckled and turned to pack her rations away while Din lifted his helmet up to take a drink; when he had his fill, he gave the rest to Grogu, who downed the soup in record time. “Can you appreciate the irony? Any Mandalorian worth their armor was raised on this since they were his size.” Din slowly got to his feet and (Y/N) followed, picking the child up and placing him in his pram while Din retrieved his weapons. “You should rest. I’ll get you all back to my ship soon enough.”

“I’m not going with you.”

The Nite Owl frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I must continue to the Mines of Mandalore so that I may be redeemed.”

“We must continue,” (Y/N) corrected and met the visor of his helmet with a firm stare. “We’re not letting you go back down there by yourself.”

Din sighed but nodded in agreement as an exasperated Bo-Katan rolled her eyes. “I honestly think it’s adorable that you actually believe these children’s stories, but there is nothing magic about the waters.”

“Without the Creed, what are we? What do we stand for?” The Mandalorian demanded, reattaching his jetpack while (Y/N) patted Grogu’s wrinkled head. “Our people are scattered like stars in the galaxy; the Creed is how we survived. You rescued my wife and myself and I’ll always be in your debt, but I can’t – we can’t – go with you until I fulfill my obligation.”

Bo-Katan took a deep breath. “I will take you.”

(Y/N) arched a brow in surprise. “To the Living Waters?”

“Yes. You’ll never find them on your own…not in all this wreckage.”

Din exchanged a brief look with (Y/N) before giving the Nite Owl a nod. “Thank you.”

She smiled humorlessly. “Don’t thank me until you see them.”

They stomped out the fire and once Din scooped (Y/N) into his arms, they stepped off the cliff and flew down to the bottom of the chasm. Hopefully we won’t stumble across any more surprises, she thought to herself as she drew her blaster and walked between the two Mandalorians down a pathway.

“It’s hard to believe that this all was once filled with our kind…”

“It wasn’t that long ago,” Bo-Katan replied, her gloved fingers tightening around the helmet she carried against her hip. “You’d never know it, looking at all this destruction.”

(Y/N) nodded in agreement. “It looks like it’s been centuries. While I was in the Rebellion, I saw many of the cities and planets destroyed by the Empire, but none of them looked quite like this.”

“The Empire set out to punish us Mandalorians, to wipe away our memory.”

With her heart filling with sympathy for the Nite Owl walking beside her, (Y/N) quietly remarked, “It must pain you to see it like this after witnessing its beauty.”

Bo-Katan spared her a brief glance. “What pains me is seeing our own kind fight one another time and time again. Killing each other for reasons too confusion to explain. It made us weak; we had no hope to resist being smashed by the fist of the Empire.” Din shifted uncomfortably, no doubt reminded that the Children of the Watch had broken away first and were not there in Mandalore’s time of need, and (Y/N) gave his hand a comforting squeeze as Bo-Katan pointed at a crevice in the rock ahead. “There. The entrance to the Mines of Mandalore.”

They followed the Nite Owl into the crevice and after (Y/N)’s eyes adjusted when she tossed a hovering light sphere into the air above them, she glanced around the space in interest. “This area looks much older.”

“The mines have been here for thousands of years,” Bo-Katan replied. “The Living Waters are in the chambers below.”

It was then that Din finally spoke up. “Have you been there?”

“Yes, when I was a child.”

“Really?”

A small smile began to play across Bo-Katan’s face. “I was part of the royal family. I took the Creed and was showered with gifts, but the rituals were all just theatre for our subjects. They loved watching the princess recite the Mandalorian tenets as her father looked on proudly.” She snorted in amusement. “Such a heartwarming spectacle.”

“Maybe he was proud,” Din speculated, and (Y/N) knew it was more for Bo-Katan’s sake than his own.

“I know he was. I didn’t embarrass him in front of everyone.”

The tunnel was silent for a moment before Din spoke again. “Your father sounds like an interesting man. I would’ve liked to have known him.”

“He was a great man.” Bo-Katan swallowed thickly and kept her gaze trained ahead. “He died defending Mandalore.”

Din stopped in his tracks, leading (Y/N) and the Nite Owl to stop walking and Grogu’s pram to hover in the air nearby, and he bowed his head in respect. “This is the Way.”

They continued down the tunnel, the silence amongst their small group accompanied only by the steady dripping of water. As they walked, (Y/N) thought about Bo-Katan’s glowing praise of her father and felt a familiar pang in her chest; she’d never known her own father – not even his name – and all her mother told her was that it was because of his choice that he wasn’t in their lives. When she was a child, she often wondered what her father was like and grew envious of the other children in her town who had two parents, and when she was a teenager and already suffered her mother’s untimely death, that childlike curiosity soured and turned to anger. Now that she was grown, the fiery anger was gone and had been replaced by an empty feeling, not quite sadness but a little like grief. Grief for the little girl who was forced to fend for herself after the only person in the galaxy who loved her passed away, grief for the young woman who spent years alone with only her pain and fury for company, and grief for the woman who would never have the chance to introduce her honorable husband and adoptive son to a father filled with pride for his daughter.

“Alor’ad? Everything okay?”

(Y/N) blinked and gave Din a brief smile. “Yep, just lost in thought.”

The Mandalorian’s gloved hand tightened around hers, keeping her grounded in the present and focused on the end of tunnel as it widened to reveal a massive chamber filled with inky-black water that was smooth as glass. “Here you go: The Living Waters. I want you two to get the full tour.” Bo-Katan chuckled and walked over to a tarnished plaque on the wall. “‘These mines date back to the age of the first Mandalore. According to ancient folklore, the mines were once a Mythosaur lair; Mandalore the Great is said to have tamed the mythical beast. It is from these legends that the skull signet was adopted and became the symbol of our planet.’”

While Bo-Katan teasingly read from the plaque, Din and (Y/N) stood by the steps that led down into the waters; she looked over at her husband and although she couldn’t see his face, she could tell from the way he stared out at the waters that he was overcome with emotion. “Are you ready, sweetheart?”

Din silently nodded and went about removing his cowl, weapons and jetpack, setting them down on the stone floor and turning back to (Y/N); he leaned down and gave her a lingering Keldabe Kiss before slowly descending the steps into the waters. “I swear on my name and the names of the Ancestors…” (Y/N) anxiously bit her lip and both Bo-Katan and Grogu moved closer as the water quickly covered Din’s boots. “That I shall walk the Way of the Mand’alor…” The water soon encased his torso. “And the words of the Creed shall be forever forged in my heart.”

Just as Din finished reciting the Mandalorian Creed and (Y/N)’s shoulders relaxed, he dropped down into the waters and entirely disappeared from view. “Din!” Bo-Katan quickly put her helmet on and jumped into the waters after him while Grogu wailed in alarm. “It’s okay, little guy, your dad’s gonna be okay…” She scooped the child into her arms and held him close, worry filling her heart as she stared down at the inky-black waters that were meant to redeem her husband, not condemn him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mando’a Translations:

Ner cyar’ika alor’ad-My darling captain Alor’ad-Captain Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, ner cyar’ika alor’ad-I love you, my darling captain Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, ner cyar’ika riduur-I love you, my darling husband

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! Oh, and I’ve created a Spotify playlist of all my favorite music from the world of Star Wars, so if you’re interested in checking it out the link is down below!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2KuSKJhVOPPvxdJ9YHeo4M?si=2977ff31bf0c4bdd

Chapter Thirty-Four

Taking Care of Business Masterlist

Tagging: @remmysbounty​ @sinon36​ @seninjakitey​ @thatonedindjarinfan​ @ginger-swag-rapunzel​ @mostclevermiss​ @momc95​ @welcometothepedroverse​ @sarahjkl82-blog​ @elinedjarin​ @itsnottilly​ @crowleysqueenofhell​  @goldielocks2004 @wondergal2001​ @groovy-lady​ @impala1967666​ @fluffy-canada-pancakes​ @icee228​​

[cascadeclan-gen]

Moon 5

Pebblepaw slinks through the undergrowth, setting his paws down carefully. He doesn’t want to startle his quarry. The greenleaf sun shines on his fur. He imagines he looks quite handsome and impressive, stalking through the territory like he is.

He finally reaches his prey, and prepares to spring. He can’t help a satisfied flick of his tail before he leaps. He arcs through the air, keeping his legs and paws tight to his body, then extends his front legs as he collides with Otterdive. “Gotcha!” Pebblepaw cries triumphantly, pinning the warrior beneath him.

Otterdive laughs. “Nice job, Pebblepaw! I had no clue you were there!” Pebblepaw lets him stand up, and they both shake dirt off of their pelts before joining Hyssopbloom, who is watching them with a small smile.

“Why are you here, Pebblepaw? Is Snowstar with you?” she asks, looking around for their leader.

“Snowstar isn’t feeling well,” Pebblepaw replied. He lowered his voice and spoke from his chest, imitating his mentor. “I don’t do so well in this heat anymore! Go and join the hunting patrol.”

“We’ll have to travel a bit further to hunt, we probably scared off all the prey around here.” Otterdive didn’t sound all that disappointed. Pebblepaw knew that he and Hyssopbloom liked the hot weather. It’s probably why they’d been chosen for the midday hunting patrol.

They travelled in amicable silence, stopping once or twice for Otterdive to point out an interesting flower or pretty beetle. Hyssopbloom stopped them at a gully. Snowstar had taught him that the gullies were carved out by water and snow, and that you had to be careful not to dislodge any debris in them. Pebblepaw usually avoided them. Otterdive had no such worries, though, and quickly sprang forward to catch a shrew. Hyssopbloom followed quickly after to stalk something.

Pebblepaw decided to keep his hunt to the top of the gully. He smelled the air around him, searching for something to catch, and easily found a warbler. The kits hadn’t had many birds. Pebblepaw knew they’d be excited for this one, and that knowledge carried his paws to his prey. It didn’t have time to notice him before he killed it. He gave thanks to the prey and the territory, like Snowstar taught him, and then set his sights on a swallow.

A loud crash interrupted his hunt, and he raced towards Hyssopbloom’s yells. He understood the situation as soon as he poked his head over the top of the gully. One of the trees half-sunken into it had toppled over, trapping Otterdive beneath. Pebblepaw raced down the slope, nearly crashing into Hyssopbloom as he stopped. “Are you hurt?” he asked Otterdive.

The older tom looked frustrated. “No, I feel mostly fine. A little squished. I just can’t quite get out from underneath this.”

Hyssopbloom began studying the situation as Pebblepaw asked a few more questions. Did he know the Clan’s name? Was he feeling present in the situation? Did he have any aches or stings? He’d heard Skystripe ask them often to assess injuries. Otterdive patiently answered them.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Hyssopbloom announced, beginning to push a thick branch into position. “We balance this on that round rock there, with one end under the tree and the other up in the air. When we push on the end in the air, it should lift the tree enough for Otterdive to wiggle out.”

Pebblepaw privately worried that they wouldn’t be strong enough to move the tree, with him not being fully grown and Hyssopbloom being a bit smaller and delicate than the other Clan cats. But her plans often worked, so he would give it his best try. It would be a great story for the kits.

He and Hyssopbloom worked quickly to maneuver the branch into place. Otterdive provided updates on his situation, often ones that Pebblepaw felt were a touch unhelpful, such as “it’s so hot in here, I think I may be melting” and “I’m so hungry, I fear I may starve before you finish wiggling that in”. But when they finally were ready to push, Pebblepaw could see uncertainty in Otterdive’s expression. He felt bad for being annoyed. Otterdive was being crushed, and Pebblepaw couldn’t hold his poor taste in jokes against him.

Pebblepaw stretched upwards and dug his claws into the wood. Hyssopbloom did the same, and counted down. Together they pulled the branch downwards. For a moment Pebblepaw worried that Hyssopbloom’s plan had failed, but then he felt the branch shift. He put everything he had into it, and slowly but surely, the tree moved upwards.

Otterdive slipped out quickly. As soon as his tail was clear Pebblepaw released the branch, exhausted and already aching. Otterdive shook out his legs and let Hyssopbloom fuss over him for a moment. Once she was sure he could make it back to camp, the patrol quickly picked up what they’d caught and began the journey back to camp. The walk home took longer than the walk out. Pebblepaw was tired and sore but pride moved him forward. He’d helped to save his Clanmates life! They’d gotten Otterdive out safely. Pebblepaw felt like he could do anything. Nothing could ruin this moment for him.

At least, until he stepped into camp. Silence greeted the patrol, the mood somber and quiet. When Pebblepaw dropped the warbler on the fresh-kill pile, the scents of honeysuckle and sage hit his nose, and dread filled his gut. The last time Skystripe had used that combination had been to stave off the death-scent from Ridgepelt’s body before burial.

Lightkit and Currantkit watched the patrol wide-eyed from the nursery. Pebblepaw couldn’t help but be relieved. At least it wasn’t the kits. He waved his tail at them and followed the rest of the hunting patrol to the healer’s den. His mind filled with images of what he may find there; Snowstar could come back, but Skystripe could have been attacked by wolves or dogs; Doveshade’s sickness could have proven too much for her to handle. Hyssopbloom and Otterdive filled the den entrance, but Hyssopbloom quickly turned away. She slipped away to the warriors den, and Pebblepaw took her place.

Doveshade was draped over Mistyfur, quietly sobbing. Otterdive laid next to her, comforting his former mentor as best he could. Snowstar and Skystripe sat next to each other, speaking in hushed tones. Pebblepaw walked over to them, and they made room for him to sit between them. Snowstar laid his tail on Pebblepaw’s back. Skystripe rubbed their heads together comfortingly. “His infection progressed too quickly for Skystripe to treat,” Snowstar murmured to him. Pebblepaw nodded. He knew Skystripe would see it as her own failing, even if it wasn’t. “We will hold vigil tonight, and bury him tomorrow.”

Pebblepaw leaned into Snowstar’s side. He couldn’t help but remember Ridgepelt’s vigil. Mistyfur’s would be held in greenleaf instead of leafbare, but they would all share memories of him and honor his memory. For a moment, an old fear crept into his mind, of starvation and sour red blood. But he knew that this was being a warrior. Sharing in sorrows and joys. Supporting each other.

Lightkit finds a tuft of Pebblepaw’s fur, and adds it to his nest. Pebblepaw isn’t sure if he should feel flattered or not.

Snowstar suffers from heat exhaustion.

Currantkit gets fleas.

Snowstar amends the rule allowing Healers to have kits. A Healer can only have kits if there is another fully-trained Healer.

[dindjarindiaries]

Security - Chapter 54: The Homeworld

summary: Din and Astra make their way to the Mandalorian homeworld, where they find many surprises awaiting them.

warnings: canon-typical violence, references to trauma, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

rating: T

word count: 6.424k

previous ⟸ masterlist ⟹ next

chapter 54: the homeworld

Tatooine’s landscape is familiar to Din in a way that isn’t quite like home, but falls somewhere near it. The streets are heavily populated with people and speeders as the starfighter makes its descent into Peli’s hangar. Din exhales as he realizes what day it is: Boonta Eve, a holiday he never celebrated but often witnessed throughout his life spent in the Outer Rim.

Din glances back and smiles to himself at the sight of Astra sleeping with Grogu tucked under her chin. He’s relieved, as the emotional weight of their brief stop on Kalevala no doubt weighed heavily upon his wife. She needs all the rest she can get and Din’s trying his best to do the same. It’s hard not to admire his family in such a peaceful state, and this time, he spent most of it with his daughter who now sleeps in the space between his bandolier and his cuirass.

“Cyar’ika,” Din’s gentle with his call, regretful to wake her, “we’re here.”

Astra stirs with a deep breath that Din can hear over the intercom. “It’s like we never left,” she says.

Din chuckles at her words. They had definitely overstayed their welcome, but Boba Fett had been generous in letting their family stay as long as they needed to. That opportunity for his family to rest had made every injury Din sustained during the fight worth it.

As soon as the N-1 touches down in Peli’s hangar, Din can hear her voice shouting to him. “Whoo-hoo!” she whoops. “You hear that? She’s purring like a nuzzle shrew.”

Din slides his and Astra’s canopies open. “No complaints. Still faster than I know what to do with.”

“For better or for worse,” Astra adds, amused.

“Well, I’ll tune her up, just the same,” Peli assures them. She sets her hands on her belt and looks between them. “So, uh, where’s my guy? Huh?”

Astra lifts Grogu high enough for Peli to see him. He coos with joy as Peli does the same.

“There he is!” Peli lets out a surprised exclamation as Grogu leaps from Astra’s arms in a grand front flip. Din tries to suppress a laugh and somewhat succeeds, an action that starts to rouse Zora upon his armored chest. “Now who taught you how to leap like a Lurmen, huh?”

“It wasn’t us,” Astra jokes as she starts to stand. “Trust me.”

“Well, what about my other pal?” Peli gestures to Din as he rises with a gloved hand holding tight to Zora. She gasps with sweet delight. “Oh, my stars! She’s gotten so big!” Peli waves while Din offers a hand to Astra and helps her down. “Hi there, Zora!”

Zora smiles at Peli and then looks at Din. He’s just gotten to the ground when Zora taps his helmet and points. “Baba!” She takes a firm grip on the lip of his helmet and tries to pull it up. Din lifts a hand to push it back down and removes her grip in a gentle motion. He holds onto her tiny hand while Peli chuckles.

“You’re trying to show me your dad, aren’t you?” Peli asks Zora in a baby voice. Astra laughs as she sets a hand on Din’s pauldron and keeps it there. Din takes a quick moment to admire her and the bright shine he sees in her gaze.

“As much as I’d like to keep this reunion going,” Din speaks up, “we’re here on business.”

“Oh, are the Hutts back?” Peli questions. “Are you takin’ out Boba Fett?”

Din tilts his helmet at her. “We need a droid part.”

Peli rolls her eyes and scoffs. “Ugh. Boring!” She turns to shout at her droids. “Hey, get the Jawas back in here before they hit the cantina!” The pit droids set off and Peli faces Din and Astra again. “You know how Mos Eisley gets during Boonta week.” She lifts a hand to mock drinking and Din nods in understanding.

Astra gives Din’s shoulder a playful shrug. “Do you really, riduur?”

Din swings his helmet to look at her. “I… was younger then.” He clears his throat and focuses back on Peli, though he doesn’t miss the squeeze Astra gives his shoulder. “I’m looking for a replacement IG memory circuit.”

Peli gives Din a surprised look. “Oh. Hey, grandpa.” Astra laughs before she can suppress the sound with her hand. This time, Din deals her a playful shoulder shove. “They haven’t made those for a while.”

Peli guides them closer to a speeder she’s working on, where the Jawas meet them in the middle. When they stop in front of her, she speaks to them in Jawaese, ending her sentence with “memory circuit.” The Jawas make a few frustrated hand gestures before they run off again. Din and Astra share a look before Peli turns to them again. “Sorry, pal, no chance cubes.”

Din lifts his free hand in shock. “They can’t find the part?”

Peli shrugs. “Nope.”

Din gives Astra a worried stare and tightens his hand into a fist. “We need our droid fixed now.” Zora whimpers and Din starts to gently rock her, resisting the urge to apologize for his frustrated feelings.

“Which is why I think you should buy this beauty here.” Peli turns and slaps a hand on top of her R5-D4 unit, causing a piece of him to fly off completely. One of his circuits crackles with electricity that makes Din hold back a sigh.

“I can’t use an astromech,” Din reminds her. “We need a droid that’s rated for spelunking.”

Peli wears an incredulous raise of her brow. “Spelunking? What are you spelunking?”

Astra moves closer to Din’s side and he wishes he could thank her for it. “We’re going to Mandalore. We need a droid that can explore ahead of us and test the atmosphere, make sure it’s safe to breathe.”

“Okay, well…” Peli starts. She’s cut off by R5 beeping and shaking his head as he tries to back away. Peli waves him back over and tuts at him. “Hey! Get right back here. Right back here, scaredy droid.” She sets a supportive hand on him. “Come on now, you gotta shine.”

Din glances over at Astra to read her. She’s focused back on the starfighter, her lips pulled tight in consideration. Peli goes on before he can question her about it.

“This R5 astromech is built for adventure,” she informs them. R5 gives her a sharp look and she returns one with bewilderment. “What?” She sighs when he speaks to her. “Of course you are. You’re supposed to be piloting starfighters across the galaxy and fighting tyranny.”

R5 offers only nervous beeps in response. Din’s gaze meets Astra’s and she becomes the one to voice their shared parts. “We don’t have any room for him on the ship,” Astra tells Peli. “We can barely fit the four of us in there.”

“Not to mention he’s falling apart,” Din mutters.

“Nonsense,” Peli insists. “R5-D4 is as good as the day he came back from serving in the Rebellion.” Astra raises an eyebrow at Din and he holds back an amused chuckle. “And don’t you worry. I’ll reinstall your droid port and this little baby here can even co-pilot.” R5 begins to shake with worry and Peli glares at him. “Hey, if you don’t settle your bolts, I’ll sell you back to the Jawas.”

“Peli,” Astra starts with a worried sigh, “that only worsens our problem of fitting in the ship.”

“I’ve got it, princess!” Peli assures her. Astra huffs at the use of her old title. “It’s Boonta Eve, so what I’m gonna do is give you this—,” she leans against R5, “—for half the price and throw in a free oil bath. And since it’s inconveniencing you and I happen to like your family, I’ll push that droid port back and make some other modifications to fit you all in there a bit better.”

Din and Astra share a glance while Peli and R5 do the same. Astra shrugs and gestures to the ship. “It’s up to you, riduur. You have a better idea of what we need for this journey.”

Din glances at the starfighter and sighs. The part for IG will take months to find if even the Jawas can’t get it, and the longer Din waits for this adventure, the more his family will have to suffer. He ultimately offers a nod towards Peli. “All right.”

Peli grins and pats R5 in celebration. “Great!” She hands Grogu off to Astra. “Then I’ll get to work.” She starts to walk towards her toolkit then stops. “Though… a helping hand or two might make this go by faster.”

Astra nods at Peli. “We’ll help you in a minute.” She shows Din the pouch that still hangs from her belt. “We just need a quick snack break.”

“Sure, sure!” Peli responds. “But next time, bring some for me.”

Astra laughs as she sets a hand on Din’s back and guides him to a more private corner of the hangar. They sit on cargo crates across from each other, Din keeping Zora balanced on his knee while Astra sets Grogu beside herself. Astra offers Grogu one of the containers first before she sets Din’s on her lap.

“Are these the ‘special treats’ we were promised earlier?” Din asks, hopeful.

Astra beams and nods. She opens the container and lets him look. “Cream of jogan.”

Din inhales an excited breath. He’s launched back to his childhood at the sight of the purple fruit. “How’d you know I love jogan?” Din wonders with a smile that remains concealed behind his beskar.

“We’ve been married a long time, now,” Astra reminds him with a sweet smile of her own. “But I have to say, this was Zora’s idea.”

Din looks at his daughter and bounces her a few times. “You have good taste, Zozo.” He lifts her to press her tiny head against his helmet, resulting in a bubbly laugh that only makes his grin grow. “You must get it from me.”

Din sets Zora back on his knee and reaches to take the container from Astra, but she shakes her head at him. “You don’t have a lot of free hands,” she reminds him. “Just lift your helmet when you’re ready and I’ll take care of it.”

Din’s face warms under his helmet as he shifts his weight and nods. He refuses to let his shyness flare up as he instead enjoys the intimate moment with his family. Din frees a hand from Zora to touch the lip of his helmet and as soon as he lifts it, Astra reaches forward with a share of the jogan. The taste once again launches Din into a state of nostalgia as he closes his eyes and rocks Zora in pure joy.

Astra looks upon him with both affection and amusement. She prepares Din’s next bite and checks in on Grogu, who’s nearly finished devouring his dessert. Astra speaks to Din as she does so. “You’re blushing, my love.”

Din shrugs, his helmet only getting warmer as his visor falls. “It’s… warm here.”

Astra chuckles with him. “It sure is.”

Given the rather small size of the dessert, the family’s snack time comes to an end more quickly than Din would’ve liked. Din retrieves the pram from the N-1 and sets Zora inside of it, tasking Grogu with the important job of keeping her safe and entertained. He and Astra pick up some of Peli’s tools and assist her as best as they can, though Din often finds himself distracted by the sight of his two children playing and laughing with each other.

The last time his family was working on this ship with Peli, Grogu had been away for almost a full standard year. Now, they’re all back together again, and they’re just one more adventure away from what could be the start of their forever home and future. These thoughts carry Din through his share of the work while he allows Peli and Astra to converse amongst themselves.

But Din’s silence doesn’t go unnoticed for long. Astra stops what she’s doing to give Din a look that he can sense before his visor even meets her gaze. She comes closer to him and lowers her voice, keeping their conversation private. “Is everything okay?” Astra gives him a once-over. “You’re quieter than usual.”

Din smiles underneath his helmet and nods. “That’s the thing.” He fixates his visor on their children again. “I couldn’t be better.”

Astra smiles with him and lifts a hand to urge his helmet to meet her forehead. “We’re almost there.” She takes her tool and taps his cuirass with it. “If you work a little quicker, we’ll get there even faster.”

Din huffs and lifts her hand from his helmet to jokingly push it away. Astra chuckles and returns to where she was before. Din’s gaze doesn’t leave her for even a single moment. He wants to freeze himself in this moment, where the joy on the faces of his wife and children could be as permanent and radiant as possible. But deep down within himself, Din comes to terms with the truth that he can’t, because he’ll never be able to fully partake in that joy until he finds his redemption once and for all.

Their teamwork on the starfighter makes their progress both quick and efficient. By the time the two suns have set and the Boonta Eve celebrations have begun, the family of four and their droid companion are settled in the modified N-1. Grogu’s finally settled himself on Din’s lap after his fifth crawl through the small hatch added between his and Astra’s seats.

Peli says a few final words to R5 before she turns to Din and addresses him. “I wouldn’t rely too much on this one,” she says, gesturing to the astromech. “His circuitry is a little fragile.”

Din furrows his brow. “I thought you said it was—.”

Peli takes the liberty of closing Din’s canopy for him.

“—Built for adventure.”

“What?” Peli questions, raising her voice above the starfighter’s purring engine. “Sorry, I can’t hear you!”

Din makes sure Astra’s canopy is closed before he starts to lift the N-1 into the air. He focuses on navigating them off planet through the Boonta Eve fireworks while Peli waves to them from below.

“May the Force be with you!” she calls up to them.

“I never know how to respond to that,” Astra confesses to Din over the intercom.

Din chuckles and shrugs. “Me neither.” He releases a breath as they pass by the fireworks, watching as Grogu admires them through the transparisteel. Din grins and focuses back on the way ahead. “All right, kid,” he says just to Grogu. “You ready for an adventure?”

Grogu coos in the affirmative. Just a few moments later, the N-1’s launched into hyperspace, sending them back the way they came. Din glances back and sees Astra and Zora already pursuing rest, with Zora’s curly head resting on her mother’s shoulder. He’s overwhelmed with a surge of warmth, though this time, he makes himself join them in slumber.

Din awakens when the starfighter returns to sublight travel. He blinks a few times at the swirling planet ahead of him, his heart aching at the sight of Mandalore’s destroyed surface. It’s visible even from this far. What used to be a beautiful part of his starry galaxy during his childhood is now a place to be feared.

Grogu’s fallen victim to that first. The little one whimpers as he looks upon the planet they’re quickly approaching. Din rushes to comfort him before he checks on Astra and Zora.

“It looks scary, I know,” Din murmurs. “But it was once green and beautiful, back when the songs were written.” He pauses, letting a wave of nostalgia wash over him. “It’s Mandalore, the homeworld of our people.” Grogu glances at Din. “Every Mandalorian can trace their roots back to this planet, and the beskar mines deep within. And you know what?”

Grogu lifts his ears in interest, though he doesn’t look away from the view of Mandalore.

“I’ve never been there, either.” Din lifts his gloved hand to point at the distant moon. “I grew up there. On that moon.” Grogu’s gaze follows his finger. “Concordia.” Grogu coos with wonder at the sight. Din moves his finger to the proximity scope. “And that’s Kalevala where we visited Bo-Katan. It’s in the same system.”

Grogu babbles a response and lifts his hand to match Din’s own.

“A Mandalorian has to understand maps and know their way around. That way, you’ll never be lost.”

“Wise words from a wise man,” Astra responds.

Din tilts his helmet and grips the controls a bit tighter. “You’re flattering me too much.”

“Oh, please. I would never lie to you.”

Din holds his breath as he navigates the starfighter closer to Mandalore’s atmosphere. “You’re not gonna think I’m so wise in a second here.”

As soon as the N-1 enters the planet’s swirling clouds, their family is surrounded by darkness. Thunder rumbles and lightning threatens to strike them at any moment. The consoles begin to glitch from the atmosphere’s disturbance and the ship itself shudders from the sheer brutality of the storm. Grogu whimpers and Din keeps him close and steady. Din wonders if Astra would be sharing some choice words of her own if the intercom wasn’t malfunctioning from the atmosphere’s disturbances.

The starfighter breaks through the clouds and reveals the roughened surface of Mandalore. The consoles continue to glitch and Din gives them a few taps. “Looks like the fusion bombs from the Purge disrupted the magnetic field around the planet,” he tells Grogu. The consoles come back to life and Din lets out a sigh of relief.

“It's probably a good thing you couldn’t hear me through all that,” Astra informs Din, her voice broken up by Zora’s whines of fear.

“I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect,” Din replies, apologetic. “I would’ve warned you more if I had known.”

“It’s all right. We’re perfectly fine back here.” Zora’s cries stop and Din assumes it’s from Astra’s comfort. “Aren’t we, Zora?”

Zora releases a quiet coo, one that’s not fully reassuring but just enough to put Din at ease. He tightens his jaw as he reads a warning message on the console. “From the surface, we won’t be able to communicate with anyone out of atmosphere, so we have to be careful. Down here, we’re completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy.”

Astra’s worried breath is audible through the intercom. “That’s comforting.”

Din circles his jaw and increases the speed of their descent. “We’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I believe you.” Astra’s words are honest and kind, but cautious. “Just don’t promise me. I don’t want you to have to break it.”

Din nods. “Understood, ner kar’ta.” He lowers the N-1 to the crystallized surface near Sundari. “Some of our past promises haven’t boded well.”

“That may be true, but I don’t doubt you or your word.” Din turns in his seat to face Astra and he’s relieved to be met with her soft gaze of comfort. “I just don’t want you to have to carry any more burdens.”

Din tilts his helmet at her, a motion that says more than his words could. He prepares himself with a deep breath and gets a quick glimpse of the flat and haunting landscape. “Well, here we are.” He then turns his helmet to their astromech escort. “R5, you ready? I’m gonna need you to scout ahead and analyze the atmosphere.”

R5 beeps his response and frantically shakes his metal head back-and-forth. Din resists the urge to sigh to himself.

“That wasn’t a question.” Din hits a button on the console and he hears R5 drop to the surface. The droid beeps in pure fear. “Go over to that split in the rock and take an air sample of the ruins below.”

R5 obeys, despite his worried warbling. Grogu watches him with intent and Din can hear Zora release a frightened coo through the intercom. Astra’s tone is sad rather than afraid when she speaks. “It’s hard to believe a civilization as great as Mandalore’s once stood here.”

Din shakes his helmet. “I never got to see it.” He’s distracted by Grogu whimpering and turning his head towards his father. Din returns the glance. “The droid will be fine.” Grogu’s ears remain low. “I just need him to take some readings to make sure it’s safe.”

R5 stops in his tracks and looks back at the ship. He beeps at Din.

“Don’t be a baby. Just get the samples we need, and hurry up.”

R5 beeps something rather unkind and continues ahead. Grogu continues his worried babbles while Zora’s own whimpering gets louder. “The kids are afraid, Din.”

“I know.” Din gives Grogu’s head a reassuring pat. “But the droid will be okay.” R5 disappears behind the split rock and both the children’s distress gets worse. Din starts to mess with his console. “Here, Grogu, look. You can watch him on the scope.”

Grogu settles himself more on Din’s lap and watches the red dot of R5 get farther and farther away. After a few moments, the dot suddenly disappears from the scope. Grogu gasps in worry as Din hits the console.

“R5, come in. Do you read me?”

“Did we lose him?” Astra asks over the children’s whining.

“It’s probably just interference,” Din insists. He looks at Grogu and he’s met with two worried eyes that are double their usual size. Grogu coos, babbles, and sputters in despair, and despite him lacking in words, Din understands what he’s asking for. Din sighs and gives in. “Fine. I’ll go get him.”

Astra’s voice now carries the same worry as their children’s. “Is that safe?”

“It should be, but normally, this is droid work,” Din mutters. “I was hoping to avoid going out there.”

“What if it’s toxic?”

“I’ll pressurize my helmet.” Din helps Grogu lower to the floor of the starfighter. “Grogu, seal yourself in your pod. Girls…” Din turns to face Astra and Zora, “don’t open that canopy, no matter what.”

Astra tightens her jaw. “That’s a big ask, riduur.”

“You won’t even have to worry about it.” Din nods for further reassurance. “I’ll be right back.”

Once Grogu’s sealed in his pod, Din pressurizes his helmet and slides his canopy open. He stands and pauses to take a quick look around before he steps down. His helmet hisses and reminds Din why he avoids pressurizing his helmet. He closes the canopy using his vambrace and starts to walk off, but Astra’s voice stops him short. “Din.”

Din approaches her canopy and meets her gaze with his visor. Astra swallows hard and sets a hand on the transparisteel. Din lifts a gloved hand to cover hers, his touch and his gaze lingering before he forces himself to step away. He only makes it a few strides ahead before the cries of his daughter and the burning gaze of his son make him turn around once more. “Don’t worry, kids,” he assures them. “I’ll be right back.”

With that, Din closes the distance to the split rock, turning the corner and coming upon a deep cave. His steps slow and he remains more cautious once he enters, the crystallized walls emitting nothing but darkness and green-filtered light. There’s no sign of R5 just yet, but the more Din goes on, the less focused he becomes on the astromech. Instead, his attention’s drawn to what lies at the end of his vision.

The walkway turns into a cliff that opens the crystallized cave large enough to fit an entire city within it. Ruins of a city Din can only dream of visiting are charred yet preserved, giving him an idea of what life on Mandalore might’ve been like. He looks upon it with awe, his visor scanning the view while his mind tries to take it all in.

It’s only the rustling Din catches behind him that draws his attention back to the situation at hand. A creature appears from the darkness and roars at Din as it raises a weapon that knocks him to the ground. Two more creatures join the fight, but Din remains focused on reaching for his blaster and firing a bolt at his first attacker. The other two come at him and knock him down before he has a chance to steady himself on his feet. Din keeps firing blaster bolts, but the creatures remain unfazed, swinging their weapons at him and forcing him to remain on the defense.

Din rolls away from them and props himself up on one knee, assessing his attacks while he has the brief chance to. Having lost his blaster before, Din reaches behind himself to take a hold of the Darksaber’s hilt. He’s displeased to find that it’s still as heavy as it was the last time he tried to wield it. With a prayer to the stars and an apology to his awaiting wife, Din swings the blade towards the creature on his left and throws a punch to finish it off. He tries to do the same to the creature on his right, but he overshoots, and the weight of the blade forces him around in a full rotation.

When he recovers, he’s met with a blow of their club to the front of his helmet. He falls back a few steps and runs right into another one of the creatures, who knocks him to the ground yet again. Every time he tries to stand, the creature forces him back down with a firm fist upon his jetpack. Din manages to unsheathe his vibroblade from his boot and sticks it into the creature’s thigh. He holds it there for a long moment before he withdraws it and slashes the creature with the Darksaber. It tumbles off the cliff and Din tries to anticipate the next attack.

He’s too late. One of the creatures knocks him back so far he nearly goes off the edge of the cliff. The other creature dives at him and Din dodges just in time to send the creature flying off the cliff instead of himself. He’s hit with another blow before he can turn back around, but he’s prepared for the next few hits. He blocks them with his arms and even gets a kick into the creature’s leg, bringing it to its knee. Din uses the advantage to run the Darksaber through the creature’s middle. Once he’s satisfied, Din retracts the blade and throws the final creature’s limp body off the cliff.

Din watches the spectacle while he catches his breath. He checks himself for wounds, though his observation is interrupted by R5 beeping. Din turns around and finds R5 knocked back against a few crystallized rocks, unable to get himself to move. He approaches the droid and starts to lift him, though he can feel the droid trying to help. “Yeah, wait,” Din commands breathlessly. With a heave of effort thanks to his recent fight, he gets the astromech back to his wheeled feet. “Okay, you’re all right.”

R5 rocks a few times as he beeps in gratitude. Din offers a nod.

“Now come on,” Din urges. He’s begun to fear for his family following his own run-in. “Let’s get you back to the ship.”

Din leads the way and R5 follows close behind. His steps quicken in his desire to reach his family, and in just another minute or so, he turns the corner and spots the N-1. The only difference from when he left is that Grogu’s used the hatch to join Astra and Zora in their canopy. Din smiles to himself in relief and he can already see Astra doing the same. Grogu and Zora both coo and set their hands upon the transparisteel. Din chuckles to himself and stops both himself and R5 just in front of the ship.

“They’ve been waiting to join you,” Astra manages to tell him through the transparisteel.

“Hang on,” Din responds. “Not until I check the toxicity.” Din looks at R5. “You got an analysis on the atmosphere yet?”

R5 beeps in the affirmative and lifts his holotransmitter. The holo reveals the analysis charts that only get more and more promising, the number rising higher and falling more and more into the green zone. Din watches it with amazement.

“The charts were wrong,” Din murmurs. The count stop and the number Din reads is a welcome and beneficial surprise. “The atmosphere is breathable.” Din glances up. “Bo-Katan was right.” He then meets Astra’s gaze. “Mandalore is not cursed.”

Astra’s lips stretch wide in a prideful smile. “And now, you’re the first person brave enough to return to it.”

Din beams underneath his helmet and moves towards their canopy. “It’s about time you all joined me.” He slides the canopy open and looks at Grogu, gesturing with his helmet to the pilot’s seat. “Go get your pod for you and your sister.”

Grogu obeys with an enthusiastic coo. Din helps Astra and Zora out of the ship and onto the crystallized surface. Astra looks around with the same wonder Din felt in the cave, her gaze brightened. Din wishes he could have more time to admire her and her excitement. No sight in the galaxy could be as beautiful as this.

Grogu returns at Din’s side in his pod and Astra sets Zora inside it. Their daughter whines and reaches out to Din. He summons the strength of the Ancestors to deny her request. “I’m sorry, Zozo, but you’ve got to stay in the pod with your brother,” Din tells her in a soft voice. “It’s safer there.”

Zora begins to cry. Grogu lets out a concerned coo and sets a hand on her tiny shoulder. Din twists his lips and kneels down to the height of the pram, his gloved hands holding her face as his visor meets her devastated brown gaze.

“Zora Arilia.” Din nods and runs his thumbs over her cheeks to dry her tears. “You’re a Djarin. Cuy dral. Cuy verd’ika.” You’re strong. You’re a little warrior. He lifts a hand to the lip of his helmet and raises it just enough to kiss her forehead. Zora calms and even smiles at her father’s words and affection.

Din doesn’t lower his helmet when he stands, instead turning to his wife and wrapping his free hand around the back of her neck. He pulls her to himself in a kiss that displays his utter love, admiration, and desperation for her, a gesture of gratitude that words can’t express. She’s stuck by his side for so long, much longer than anyone else in his life, and now she’s come all the way to a destroyed planet for him. Din never knew it was possible to hold so much love in his heart.

They separate and Din lets his helmet fall back fully over his face. He presses his helmet to Astra’s forehead and takes one of her hands, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Are you ready?”

Astra’s gaze is somehow even brighter than before. She nods and squeezes his hand back. “Let’s get you to those Living Waters.” Astra takes a step away from him and keeps her hold on his hand. “This is the Way.”

Din inhales at her words, unable to contain the warmth that spills from his very chest. His voice is strained when he responds. “This is the Way.”

They keep their hands entwined as Din leads their family towards the split in the rock. He rolls his shoulders and keeps one gloved hand near his holster. Astra glances at him out of the corner of his eye. “What happened in there?”

Din returns her stare. “In here?” He points to the way ahead.

Astra sharpens her look before he can go on. “I know something happened.” She gestures to his armored shoulders. “You’re stiffer than before.”

Din releases a soft sigh. “There were some… creatures.”

Astra’s brow lifts. “What kind of creatures?” Her gaze gives him a once-over. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. I don’t know what they were.” Din gives her hand a squeeze for reassurance. His visor leaves her gaze as he continues. “I did use the Darksaber, though. I’m sorry.”

“I had a feeling.” Astra steps closer to his side, until they’re brushing against each other with every step. “It’s all right. I trust you with it if you trust yourself.”

Din nods, keeping her close and enjoying her touch while he can. He draws his blaster with his free hand at the mouth of the cave and Astra does the same. They share a look before Din takes a cautious step forward. They’re forced to separate as Din clears their path. He scans the area for more of the creatures he’d seen before, but by the time he reaches the end of the walkway, he doesn’t find a single one. Din releases the breath he was holding and holsters his blaster. “That’s the Civic Center,” he tells Astra, who also holsters her blaster at his side. “This is where Bo-Katan said to go.”

Astra looks upon the city with a grim pinch in her brow. “This is the Civic Center?” She glances at Din. “It looked like it was once a beautiful place.”

“That’s what I thought, too.”

Astra’s sadness is replaced by confusion when she looks at Din again. “How are we supposed to get down there?”

Din taps the pod at his side. “Grogu will get these two to follow us in the pod. As for you…” he opens his arms to her, “we’re gonna have to do this the old fashioned way.”

Astra looks between the buried city and Din a few times. She takes a deep breath of composure and nods. “All right.” She walks towards him and wraps her arms tightly around Din’s neck. Din lifts her and helps her to wrap her legs tight around him. His grip becomes a vice to keep her in place.

“I’ve got you,” Din assures her. “Just make sure you’re hanging on as tight as you can.”

“I will. It would be really nice if I could get a jetpack of my o…”

Astra cuts herself off with a gasp as Din makes the jump from the edge of the walkway. He activates his jetpack to keep them at equilibrium. He’s pleased to see the kids’ pod following at his side, Grogu’s ears flapping in the wind as they make their descent. Din waits until they’re far down enough for him to evaluate. He lands on a long yet stable strip and keeps Astra in place.

“Please tell me we’re almost there,” Astra murmurs.

Din rests his helmet against her head on his shoulder. “Sorry, cyar’ika. The mines should be further down.” He takes a breath to prepare himself. “We’re on our own from here.”

Grogu babbles at Din and he nods in return. Din steps out and lets them freefall again. The jetpack carries them all the way down until they can’t go any further. When they land, his boots splash in a small trail of water.

Din takes a breath of relief. “This should be good.”

He helps Astra get back on her feet. She heaves a breath and sets her hands on his cuirass. “Thank the stars you’re so strong.”

Din chuckles and shakes his head. Astra steps away to let Din get a good look around, and upon seeing the tunnels surrounding them, Din charts a path in his mind. He sets off and his family follows. When the darkness becomes too much, he clasps the light onto his helmet, urging Grogu to do the same with his pram. Astra stays close to Din’s side while he investigates the area, looking for any clues or dangers. He draws his blaster for security and Astra follows his lead.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Astra whispers. She gives her head an aimless shake. “This all looks the same to me.”

“Look.” Din gestures with his blaster to a nearby stream of water that falls from above them. “These waters should flow down to the mines and the Living Waters within.”

Astra nods and continues to follow Din forward. He can hear Grogu babbling something in a nervous tone behind him. He doesn’t blame the little one; the darkness of the tunnel mixed with its lingering creatures would be enough to frighten even the bravest of travelers.

After they’ve traversed the tunnel for countless minutes, they come along a seemingly dead end. Din glances around and his light catches an opening. “There.” Din points it out for Astra. “That passage heads down.”

Astra lifts her blaster higher. “Looks dangerous.”

Din gives his helmet a quick tilt. “Could be.” He glances over at her. “Stay close.”

Astra complies and stays right by his side as Din walks up to the mouth of the passage. He stops and scans the opening, lifting his blaster to prepare for any threats. When he looks down and takes a few more steps, Din spots something in the dirt. He kneels down and brushes the dirt from it, his heart sinking when he realizes what it is. Din lifts the broken helmet and examines it, much like he did that nearly fateful day on Nevarro. Astra sets a hand on his shoulder for support.

The rest happens in a quick and brutal flash.

Din can hear the trap set off. He manages to push Astra away from himself, watching only for a moment as she rolls in the dirt. The massive trap secures him just after and Din struggles to fight his way out. Whatever’s holding him stands, and one of its massive legs settles too close to the place where Astra had landed. Din tries to look for her as he continues his fight, but a sharp jab in his neck makes a horrible chill paralyze him.

And the last thought on Din’s mind before the dark tunnel goes completely black is the fear that he likely just sealed his family’s fate within the dark tunnels beneath Mandalore.

previous ⟸ masterlist ⟹ next

security tag list: @themilkface​​ @heyitsjaybird​​ @theindiealto​​ @maryan028​​ @lamnothome​​ @taman-a​​ @tmnt-would2​​ @valeecruz16​ @awesomefandomsunited​ @maajikcrossing​ @notawhitegirlblog​ @mrsparknuts​ @ezraslittleblondestreak​ @hoodedbirdie​​ @nerd-without-a-cause​​ @daffodin-blog​​ @vernon-dursley​​ @remmyswritings​​ @rintheemolion​​ @angelbabymed​​ @myguiltypleasures21​​ @whats-a-blog-again​​ @lv7867​​ @salty-sith-bitch​​ @lifeisapitch15​​ @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked​​ @blackcupidangel​​ @irishfaulk97​​ @kaelyn-lobrutto24​​ @creating-constellations​​ @rosiefridayrogersunday​​ @nerdypinupcrystal​​ @mermaidbrina​​ @lanie103​​ @elizabethren​​ @stardustandkyber​​ @t3a-bag​​ @dxnxdjarxn​​  @orneryscandalousevil​​ @simpfordin​​ @magicrowiswritingstuff​ @myheart-pedro​​ @bewitchedbodyandsol​​ @marvelous-glims​​ @mostclevermiss​​ @peachyaeger​​ @mrs-djarin-89​​ @murdertoothpick​​ @jackiereadsfics​​​

all star wars characters: @hugmekenobi​​ @themarvelousbee​​ @nembees​​ @amneris21​​@wildmoonflower​​ @bombshe77​​ @harriedandharassed​​ @againstacecilia​​ @ladykatakuri​​ @bludyl​​ @erin-is-sky​​ @tanzthompson​​​ @murdertoothpick​​​ @mandoloriancookie​​​

din djarin: @swol-bear​​ @notagamersdey​​ @les-ingenue​​ @booksaremyyoga​​ @hp-hogwartsexpress​​ @dheet​​ @mccn-bcys​​ @alwaysdjarin​​ @reader-without-a-story​​ @cyaredindjarin​​ @toobsessedsstuff​​ @unofficialavenger90​​ @tizylish​​ @your-slutty-gf​​ @untitledarea​​ @pedropascalmyloveee​​ @mildlyhopeless​​ @lexloon​​ @jellybeanstacey0519​​ @uwiuwi​​​ @lake-145​​​ @burningcoffeetimetravel​​​ @hello-th3r3​​​ @jackiereadsfics​​​

↳ add yourself to a taglist here!

[warrior-names]

Prefixes/Suffixes for ThunderClan Cats

Words from things that can't be found in North America or Europe aren't included; this list is made based on ThunderClan territory, culture, & prey.

95+ prefixes and 30+ suffixes under the cut!

Prefixes

A

Acorn-

Adder-

Alder-

Apple-

Ash-

Aspen-

B

Badger-

Bark-

Bay-

Bear-

Beaver-

Bee-

Beech-

Beetle-

Berry-

Birch-

Bird-

Bracken-

Bramble-

Branch-

Bug-

Bumble-

Bumblebee-

Butterfly-

C

Cardinal-

Cedar-

Cherry-

Chestnut-

Chipmunk-

Crow-

Cuckoo-

Cypress-

D

Deer-

Doe-

Dogwood-

E

Elk-

Elm-

F

Fawn-

Feather-

Fir-

Fox-

Frog-

G

Gum-

H

Hawk-

Hedgehog-

Hemlock-

Hickory-

Holly-

Honey-

J

Juneberry-

Juniper-

L

Larch-

Laurel-

Leaf-

Linden-

Lizard-

Locust-

M

Magpie-

Maple-

Mouse-

Mulberry-

Myrtle-

N

Nectar-

Nettle-

Nut-

Nutmeg-

O

Oak-

Olive-

Owl-

P

Palm-

Pecan-

Pine-

Poplar-

R

Raccoon-

Raven-

Robin-

Root-

Rowan-

S

Sequoia-

Shrew-

Snake-

Spruce-

Squirrel-

Stag-

Sweetgum-

Sycamore-

T

Toad-

Tree-

V

Vole-

W

Walnut-

Weasel-

Willow-

Worm-

Y

Yarrow-

Yew-

Suffixes

A

apple

B

bark

berry

bird

branch

C

claw

F

fall

feather

flash

flight

flower

flutter

H

heart

L

leaf

leap

light

M

moth

R

root

rumble

S

step

strike

stripe

T

tail

thorn

W

wing

[yuplusjin]

But really watching Leaping of the Shrew made me think why they didn't make Al's hair like from Genesis 😂

[anonymousewrites]

Clan of Three (Book 3) Chapter Three

Father Figure! Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Teen! Reader

Chapter Three: The Cave

Summary: Mando and (Y/N) explore Mandalore to find the Living Waters, but they run into trouble, as usual.

Mouse Note: Feat. (Y/N) jumping off a cliff and scaring Mando to death.

            Mando slowly descended into Hangar Three-Five as Peli looked up as the group arrived in Mos Eisley on Tatooine to see if Peli Motto could find the part they needed for IG.

            “Whoo-hoo! You hear that? She’s purring like a nuzzle shrew!” Peli happily looked over her work as the N-1 shut off and the canopy opened.

            “No complaints,” said Mando. “Still faster than I know what to do with.”

            “Well, I’ll tune her up just the same,” said Peli. “So, uh, where’re my buddies?”

            “Still here,” said (Y/N), poking their head out. Grogu, much more excitedly, cooed and Force-jumped to Peli’s arms.

            Peli grinned and caught him. “Now who taught you to leap like a lurmen, huh?” Grogu babbled, and Peli gasped as Mando and (Y/N) climbed out of the N-1. “Was that his first word? I think he’s talking to me! Did you hear that? He said ‘Peli’!”

            “I’m here on business,” said Mando.

            “Oh, are the Hutts back? Are you takin’ out Boba Fett?” asked Peli, expecting some drama.

            “No, we like him,” said (Y/N), shrugging.

            “We need a droid part,” said Mando.

            “Uh. Bo-ring,” said Peli. She called back to her droids. “Hey, get the Jawas back in here before they hit the cantina!” She glanced back at Mando and (Y/N). “You know how Mos Eisley gets during Boonta week.”

            “We’re looking for a replacement IG memory circuit,” explained Mando.

            “Oh, hey, Grandpa,” teased Peli. “They haven’t made those for a while.” They were interrupted as several Jawas ran into the hangar, and Peli spoke to them. “Memory circuit.” The Jawas shook their heads and shrugged, and Peli frowned at Mando. “Sorry, pal, no chance cubes.”

            “They can’t find the part?” asked Mando. “I need the part now.”

            “Which is why I think you should buy this beauty here!” said Peli, slapping her R5 unit on the head.

            “I can’t use an astromech,” said Mando. “I need a droid that’s rated for spelunking.”

            “Spelunking? What are you spelunking?” asked Peli.

            “We’re going to Mandalore,” said (Y/N).

            “We need a droid that can explore ahead of us and test the atmosphere, make sure it’s safe to breathe,” said Mando.

            “Okay, well—” R5 attempted to nervously scoot away, but Peli caught him. “Uh-uh-uh. Hey! Get right back here. Right back here, scaredy droid. Come on now, you gotta shine.” She cleared her throat. “This R5 astromech is built for adventure.” The droid beeped, but Peli waved a hand. “’Course you are. You’re supposed to be piloting starfighters across the galaxy and fighting tyranny.”

            “It’s falling apart, and besides, I got no room for it on the N-1,” said Mando.

            “Nonsense, R5-D4 is as good as the day he came back from serving the rebellion,” said Peli. “And I’ll reinstall your droid port, and this little baby here can even co-pilot.” R5 trembled, and Peli gave him a look. “Hey, if you don’t settle your bolts, I’ll sell you back to the Jawas.” She laughed as she turned back to Mando and (Y/N). “And because it’s Boonta, what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna give you this for half the price and throw in a free oil bath.”

            She’s really working hard for this one, thought (Y/N).

            And sure enough, as night fell and Peli finished reinstalling the droid port, R5 was loaded up into it, and even though his anxiety was through the roof, he had no choice but to fly off with Mando, (Y/N), and Grogu.

l

            After seeing visions of Mandalore, (Y/N) was expecting much more than a gray planet with swirling clouds darkening its atmosphere as they approached, but they supposed the Empire had been determined to destroy all hope of civilization for the Mandalorians on their home planet. Grogu whined slightly in trepidation.

            “It looks scary. I know,” said Mando. “But it was once green and beautiful, back when the songs were written.”

            “It was…” murmured (Y/N), remembering their vision.

            “It’s Mandalore, the homeworld of our people,” said Mando.

            Our people. (Y/N)’s heart skipped a beat.

            “Every Mandalorian can trace their roots back to this planet and the beskar mines deep within,” said Mando.

            “And no one’s been there in years?” asked (Y/N).

            Mando shook his head. “There have been rumors of explorers, but nothing definitive.”

            “So where did you grow up with the covert?” asked (Y/N).

            Mando pointed to a moon. “I grew up there. Concordia.” He gestured to the map. “Kalevala is in the same system, all are connected.” He glanced back at (Y/N). “A Mandalorian has to understand maps. It’s important so we can make our way in the world.” (Y/N) nodded in understanding. “Then, you’ll never be lost, Verd’ika.” (Y/N) blinked, unsure of how to respond. Luckily, the lesson was finished, and the N-1 dove down towards the surface of Mandalore.

            The storms raging in the atmosphere rumbled around the N-1. The ship shook as it shot downward, trying to break free of the torrential winds. The display of the N-1 glitched, flashing brilliantly as the atmosphere faulted its readings of the world around the ship. Rain streaked the windows, obscuring the view as alarms beeped.

            But then they broke free, and the sun shone through the clouds to the scarred land below, and the N-1 was in the clear. Even broken and injured, Mandalore’s natural beauty was evident, even if hidden below destruction. (Y/N) could easily imagine the grand cities that used to rise into the skies around them.

            “Looks like the fusion bombs from the Purge disrupted the magnetic field around the planet,” said Mando, tapping the display until the charts came back up as the atmospheric disturbances halted.

            “We won’t be able to communicate with anyone outside the atmosphere,” remarked (Y/N), and Mando nodded. No help if anything happened. They’d have to be careful.

            Mando landed the N-1 in a small clearing of smooth rock. “R5, you ready? I’m gonna need you to scout ahead and analyze the atmosphere.”

            R5 beeped and shook his head.

            “That wasn’t a question,” said (Y/N).

            R5 let out a sound that resembled a sigh of fear before Mando released him to the surface of Mandalore.

            “Go over to that split in the rock and take an air sample of the ruins below,” said Mando through the comms.

            R5 beeped nervously as he rolled away towards the outcropping.

            “He’ll be fine,” said Mando. “I just need him to take some readings to make sure it’s safe.”

            R5 stopped before the rocks and turned around to beep.

            “Don’t be a baby,” said Mando. “Just get the sample we need, and hurry up.”

            R5 beeped in disappointment and rolled around the outcropping, disappearing from view.

            “Can we track R5 in case something happens?” asked (Y/N).

            Mando nodded and pointed to a screen. A small red dot, R5, was moving through the radius around the ship. Suddenly, the dot disappeared. Grogu gasped, and (Y/N) blinked. If something had injured R5, that didn’t spell well for them.

            “R5, come in,” said Mando urgently. “Do you read me?”

            Grogu whined as static came through the radio.

            “It’s probably just interference,” said Mando.

            “That’s optimistic,” muttered (Y/N), and Grogu babbled in agreement.

            Mando sighed. “Fine. I’ll go get him. Normally, this is droid work. I was hoping to avoid going out there. I’ll pressurize my helmet and leave you two here. Stay inside.” He quickly left the ship, leaving (Y/N) and Grogu to watch him.

            Grogu babbled and looked up at (Y/N). They nodded and held him closer. They had the same feeling that something was off. They could only hope Mando could handle anything that appeared.

            For several anxious minutes, Grogu and (Y/N) watched the rocks until finally, finally!, Mando appeared, and his adike breathed a sigh of relief. They perked up, expecting Mando to let them up, but he raised a hand.

            “Not until I check the toxicity,” he said, already knowing that his kids were trying to escape. He looked at R5. “You got on analysis on the atmosphere yet?”

            R5 trilled and projected his readings into the air.

            “The charts were wrong…” breathed Mando in pleasant surprised. “The atmosphere is breathable.”

            So why was everyone saying it wasn’t? Was it a rumor or… The Force hummed in warning, and (Y/N) had a feeling something else was going on.

            “Bo-Katan is right. Mandalore is not cursed,” said Mando. This was an incredible discovery for all types of Mandalorians.

            (Y/N) didn’t waste anymore time and opened the canopy to hop out of the N-1. Grogu excitedly jumped into Mando’s arms to be placed in his cradle. R5 happily went back into his port while the Mandalorian, Ushti, and…Green Guy walked back towards the cave Mando had found with the city of Sundari housed below.

            “There are strange creatures living below the surface,” warned Mando, drawing his blaster. “I don’t want to leave you by the ship on your own with them around, but be careful, alright?”

            (Y/N) nodded and drew their own blaster as they crept into the mouth of the cave. Their breath caught as they stood at the edge of the cavern. The ruins of the city of Sundari stretched out below them. It shone green from the fusion rays that had destroyed it, but it still showed the grand beauty of Mandalore from years past. (Y/N) felt their heart beat a little quicker as they imagined what Mandalore could become again if, as Mandalore the Great said, they didn’t make the mistakes of the past.

            “That’s the civic center,” said Mando, gesturing to a particular building.

            (Y/N) nodded. “Bo-Katan said the mines were beneath it.”

            “Right. I’ll carry you down—”

            (Y/N) jumped off the side of the cliff, landing on a small ledge below. With the Force softening each leap, they were able to make their way down. Mando blinked and sighed at the near-heart attack (Y/N) had given him by jumping off a cliff. Mando activated his jetpack and flew down beside (Y/N) in case anything did happen, and Grogu’s cradle floated down. They descended through the ruins, each dark corner threatening to possess enemies, but no one appeared as Mando and Grogu flew and (Y/N) leapt from ruin to ruin.

            Mando paused on an old walking path, and (Y/N) landed beside him. They peered over the edge to see a long tunnel continuing to burrow into the surface of Mandalore.

            “The mines should be further down,” said Mando. “You still doing alright, Verd’ika?”

            (Y/N) grinned. “Yep.”

            Mando smiled beneath his helmet. (Y/N) had grown so much, and they were talented and strong. He was proud of his ad’ika. “Then let’s go.”

            Mando and (Y/N) leapt off the landing again, and Grogu floated down with them as they made their way down through the tunnel. Finally, they landed on the ground, with a light splash as a puddle was disturbed beneath their feet. Mando glanced around and then led the way into another tunnel. His helmet’s flashlight lit up, and Grogu’s cradle headlights turned on. Slowly, the three walked through the tunnel, keeping their weapons out in case any creatures jumped out. The only sound was their footsteps and the batter of water as it dripped to the tunnel floor below.

            “These waters should flow to the mines and the Living Waters within,” said Mando.

            Grogu whined as they continued through the dark tunnel, and (Y/N) stayed by his side. They felt the same trepidation. The Force hummed happily as they approached the mines, a good sign spiritually. (Y/N) was beginning to understand Mandalore the Great’s words. The Way and the Force, many cultures had words for the same idea, and although Mandalore revered the Living Waters and the Way, the Force, connecting all living beings, seemed to course through this world just as much as anywhere else, and similarly to the seeing stone, it converged somewhere in this cave system.

            “That passage continues down,” said Mando, breaking the silence as he headed into the next path. He was quiet and kept his blaster close in case something appeared. So far, nothing, and (Y/N) followed.

            However, as they continued, they found strange scraps of metal strewn across the path. Mando paused every so often to examine the floor to figure out what had caused it, but so far, no signs. He knelt and brushed at a mound of dirt, exposing an abandoned Mandalorian helmet.

            Snap!

            A mechanism was triggered, and a large caged closed around Mando as Grogu and (Y/N) jumped back. A bionic droid lifted up from the ground, Mando trapped in a cage on its back, red eyes glowing malevolently. Mando groaned and tried to fight against the tight cage trapping his limbs. The robot chittered as it looked around, and (Y/N) pushed Grogu closer to them behind a rock to avoid being seen. If all of them were caught, that would mean no one could rescue them. No one would know they’re down there, kidnapped by strange cyborg creatures.

            (Y/N) and Grogu watched as the droid walked away with Mando and slowly followed to see where it took him. They followed it to a roof where many Mandalorian helmets were abandoned on the floor. The cage holding Mando was situated on a spit, and the creature, half mechanical-half alive, clambered out of the droid it had been piloting. It was tall and spindly, towering over them all as it glared around itself dangerously. It held a staff of crackling electricity, and it reached between the bars to pull Mando’s blaster away, then the Darksaber. Mando groaned, clearly drugged in some way. The bionic creature stalked away to work with some more of its strange tech.

            Grogu and (Y/N) crept closer to Mando’s cage to try to free him while the creature was distracted. Carefully, (Y/N) reached up to the cage’s lock to work on opening it. Unfortunately, the lock just clicked loudly, and the creature jerked towards the sound.

            “Get back to Bo-Katan,” said Mando weakly. “Be careful, adike…” He knew they were strong, but he didn’t want to risk them getting injured more than needed, so it was better to get help.

            (Y/N)’s brow creased, frustrated at being unable to help him, but they nodded. “I promise, we’ll be back.”

            They turned, scooped up Grogu, and ran as the creature fired its electric staff at them. They tossed Grogu to his cradle, and he flipped into it. He sped off down the corridor, and (Y/N) was right on his heels. They ran through the passages, and even as a crocodile creature with wings jumped out, (Y/N) just shot it down before leaping up into the tunnel upwards as Grogu flew up. They rose through the tunnel and the city until they reached the cave they had entered through.

            A large creature landed in front of them, and (Y/N) and Grogu drew up short. It growled and ran at them, and Grogu threw out a hand. The Force-push sent the creature flying, and as they continued running past, (Y/N) shot it to ensure it wouldn’t follow.

            “R5! Start the engines!” ordered (Y/N) as they ran towards the ship.

            They and Grogu jumped and flipped into their seats, with (Y/N) taking Mando’s pilot seat and Grogu sitting in theirs all alone.

            “Get us back to Kalevala,” said (Y/N), copying the movements Mando made to start the flight of the N-1. We’re coming, Buir.

Taglist:

@im-making-an-effort

@gr33n-d00dles

@alexpangender

@painstakingly-juno

@treehouse-mouse

@theurbannoodle

@pedropascalsidechick

@dmitrytherat

@dilfsaremyfavourite

[lucinata]

FFXIVWrite, Prompt #20: Duel

The sun beat hot on her head, and she grasped her brand-new list of tasks with a sweaty hand. She’d only just arrived in Ul’dah, but already there was so much to do! She’d not even needed a tour of the city, with all the running around she’d ended up doing, talking to this person or fetching deliveries for that person, anything she was asked, she’d do. (She’d not even been close to that lady, and yet she’d been pressed into picking up her dropped coin… well, they say everything is a learning experience in one way or another). But now that all the tasks within the city were over, and she’d gotten to know the brothers at the Thaumaturge’s guild, it was time to explore those wilds she’d glimpsed on the way in.

Let’s see, Star Marmots, Huge Hornets, Snapping Shrew… Some of the requests overlapped, so maybe she could count one beast for both. Someone wanted blood, and another just wanted the death of the animal, so that should work fine. She’d already found the marmots and hornets, but where were the shrews…?

“Spineless cravens is what you all are!”

Her head whips up at the exclamation. Lost in thought, she hadn’t realized she’d wandered so close to what seemed to be a camp of some sort. It was just tents, but the ground had been walked on long enough to pack it down hard, and there was grass growing in a broken barrel, so it certainly wasn’t temporary. The woman who shouted was standing to the side of camp in the middle of a grassless clearing. Despite the sword in her hand and the several fighters in the nearby camp, it seemed nobody wanted to take her up on her challenge.

Their eyes met, and the fighter grinned at her. “How about it, lass? You want a go, or are you craven like the rest of ‘em?”

HA! As if she’d rise to such provocation. But she was grinning too, stuffing her to-do list in her bag and drawing her staff. Beating animals about the head was just a job, after all, and her parents weren’t fighters. She’d yet to have a proper duel, and this seemed like a chance to change that.

She took her place before the fighter.

“Name’s Grishild, ‘venturer, just so you know who beat you.” Grishild twirled her sword, then took a stance. She did the same, staff at the ready, nerves singing. “Now, let us begin.”

It was over in less than a minute.

She lay on the ground, smarting, as Grishild put her sword away. “You gave a good showing, at least, for a fledgeling!” She offered a hand, and helped to pull her back to her feet. “Can’t say I expected a caster to take me up on the challenge. Most o’ you hide behind someone else’s shield, and for good reason, it seems.”

Grishild patted her on the shoulder. The adventurer grimaced. She’d tried her best, but it was either stand there casting and get whacked, or run circles without casting a single spell, neither of which was particularly good for a duel.

“Don’t beat yourself up, though! You were a sight better than that craven that fled with his tail between his legs, spitting shite out his mouth as he went.” Grishild scoffed. “Glad to find someone worth a damn in this sun-blasted place. Tell you what – anytime you want a rematch, you let me know, yeah?” She grinned and winked at her. “I’d be happy to beat you bloody any day!”

The adventurer smiled. Though she’d lost, she’d still learned a lot, and it was nice that the victor didn’t rub her face in it. She gave Grishild a firm nod, smiling, and bid her farewell. Behind her, Grishild called out for her next opponent, but she had some shrews to hunt…

Only a few days later, the adventurer came back, and beat Grishild handily in the very same place they’d first dueled. It was astounding, the level of skill and power she’d gained in so short a time. Several new spells, an uncanny sense for where she’d strike next, and a frankly terrifying ability to take a sword to the side and not even flinch, blasting her with fire and freezing her with ice every chance she got. For that just-fledged babe of a thing to grow by such leaps and bounds… She’d vowed to fight her again, but in her heart of hearts, she wondered if she’d ever again be a match for her.

Best to train, then, harder than ever. If she didn’t stop rotting with the rest of these louts, she’d be stagnant forever, and the idea alone of besting that adventurer again would be less than a dream.

[todaysleap]

Today is September 27 and today's leap is:

Leaping of the Shrew (S5, E3) September 27, 1956

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: AIC 23

A tile broke underfoot with a loud crack. His knee jarred.

Ahead, Orochimaru made a great leap.

Shrew copied, assuming the Sannin was dodging something. He collided with something invisible midair and screamed. Boar dropped off pursuit to catch Shrew before he could fall.

Hound didn't allow himself to falter. Rabbit and Jackal were still with him.

He pushed harder, muscles screaming to get him, to stop him. Orochimaru had to be stopped. He had tried to kill the Hokage. He had brought ruin to Konoha. He had defiled the dead. He had to be stopped.

He was gaining.

Orochimaru changed course, avoiding the north-east main district area. Or heading towards the mountainous training areas?

He was gaining.

Even Orochimaru's monstrous chakra reserves could be drained. Was that why he was not attacking?

He hadn't managed to desecrate Minato-sensei's corpse. He would have planned to have enough chakra for that. Orochimaru was a genius. Another man might have run out of chakra by mistake. But Orochimaru?

Hound didn't trust it. He caught Rabbit's eye and made a signal. He pulled out wire. Jackal made the feint- He went for Orochimaru's back with shuriken. Rabbit caught the other end of the wire and ripped off the weight. Orochimaru dodged the shuriken to the left. Rabbit was using her shunshin and she was there, she went past his point and Orochimaru's own speed should have had him cutting himself open on the wire.

He hit it, but skin didn't break open. Hound's gloves shrieked as metal bit through wire but he didn't let go because he needed to be touching it to send electricity down the wire. Rabbit shunshin'd again, trying to catch Orochimaru, to wrap around.

The Sannin fell into the ground. Earth jutsu. He wasn't out of chakra, then.

Hound dropped the wire. He shuddered chakra through his veins, forcing it to change from the lightning to earth nature and dove in after.

Orochimaru leapt out of hiding, back into the air. He'd rather fight above ground. Had he been hoping for a chance to do something unseen? Had he managed it.

The Sannin's mouth was red and wide, and his body undulated far too much as he avoided Jackal's sword. His shoulders moved before his lungs did- a deep breath, a-

Hound barked, a sound that Jackal reacted to on instinct and leapt away before the sword came out of Orochimaru's throat.

"Kusunagi," Orochimaru hissed. "Come, then, if you want to play."

They circled him. Hound took the lead position and when he was behind Orochimaru it was Rabbit who went in for the strike first. She went high, Hound low, Jackal for the liver. Orochimaru met Rabbit's blade with Kusunagi and Jackal's with a shuriken in his left, and he danced away from Hound's blade with a kick that connected and broke a tooth. But Hound had scored a blow, a gash up the back of Orochimaru's calf and nearly into the delicate tendons behind the knee.

Hound's head shot back and he loosened his body to use the momentum instead of holding firm and incurring damage. Jackal was twisting his blade past the kunai and into the deadwood that Orochimaru substituted with.

Where.

The snake burst out of a tree trunk, twisting and snarling for Hound. He bared his teeth in reply. His sword was ready to take off the snake's head, the only way to put a snake down was to-

Hound flinched. The genjutsu shuddered off. He dodged instead of attacking. He pulsed his chakra violently to shred the chakra hanging in the air.

Boar stopped attacking Hound- when had he arrived. Boar let his sword drop. Rabbit went careening past, unable to halt her jutsu but managing to change her trajectory to keep from running her comrade through.

Jackal was on the ground, still.

Orochimaru was gone.

Kakashi came back. Of course he did. He'd failed. That was much more Kakashi's style than Hound's. He swallowed, hard, and summoned his pack. Boar hefted up Jackal and took him for medical treatment. Rabbit followed Kakashi without comment, ready to track Orochimaru down even if it was just the two of them. But there was nothing- he'd shed his skin and scent.

They went back to the city center with cold and empty hands. Everywhere he looked, fallen buildings, spattered blood, abandoned weapons, bodies of summons and attackers and defenders. He walked past a man pretending to be a corpse and Rabbit hauled the enemy off to custody.

The arena was a bloodbath. It was dripping down the stairs. He could hear it under the quiet conversations of restoring order.

"Kakashi-san." Gai clasped his arm. "I have news."

Dully, he met Gai's eyes. They were serious. "Your students are well," Gai said, and Kakashi remembered he had students. Right. He'd sent them after Sasuke and Sasuke had gone after the Ichibi and the Ichibi had been captured by Uzumaki-san and stolen by Orochimaru.

"Uzumaki." He cleared his throat. "Didn't damage the genin when she attacked the Ichibi jinchuuriki?"

Gai shook his head. "I do not believe any of your students, save Uchiha-kun, even encountered young Gaara-san. No body has been found yet. There is a curiosity- she entrusted her students to me. They remained under my team's eye, until they were summoned to the Tower."

That was… either she did not care about the Kiri genin in the slightest, or she was allied with Konohagakure, then. He didn't feel an emotional response, but he noted it. The Sandaime had been more correct, then. She wanted Konoha's good grace.

"My Rival." Gai hadn't let go of Kakashi's arm. He held it a little tighter. His voice was rough. "There is… something else. Something important that you should know."

He waited. He couldn't muster the effort to prompt Gai.

Gai cleared his throat. "After Orochimaru left, the Nidaime and Ichidaime fell."

That made sense.

"The-" Gai paused. "The being that Uzumaki-san summoned spoke. Presumably. Uzumaki-san reacted as though there was a voice she could hear." He hesitated. "Under what appeared to be orders, she opened the Fourth's coffin." His hand shook. "She touched the Yondaime, Kakashi. She touched him. And he woke."

Kakashi jerked away from the horror of that.

Gai was still holding his stare. "He is with the Sandaime now, under close supervision." He took a deep breath. "His mind appears to be his own. He… He has asked for you."

"But they're bleeding." The older woman indicated the biohazard trash can before picking up her clipboard.

Aiko leveled her with a hard look that was probably actually fairly creepy. She ignored the trash can. Instead, she folded the hand towel and stuck it in her pocket, ignoring the outraged look that action earned her. "It happens. And they're done bleeding for now, anyway."

Apparently the medic had seen far worse, because she was unimpressed. "Can you deactivate them?" the woman tried. "Your entrance documents indicate you have black eyes, so I can only assume you can use your eyes in a less stressful way."

She chose not to hear that, because she wasn't interested in responding to it.

"She is not mistaken," Sanbi spat. "It is damaging. Your arrogance is astounding. If I would choose to rescind my generous chakra gift, you would die."

'Are you going to?' Aiko asked. She couldn't work up the energy to make the question a challenge.

He was silent.

'I didn't think so.' She had a headache she ached to rub away, but the pain beneath her eyes was gone. Had been gone since the death god had used her to revive…. Had put that stress on her body.

Sanbi didn't make a sound, but there was a quality to his silence now that indicated he had come to the same conclusion she had.

She swallowed. There wasn't time to deal with that. This wasn't a place to be more vulnerable than she already was.

"Don't stress your leg," the medic decided, grudgingly. "Keep your weight off of it for a week, or you'll delay your recovery and risk undoing the work I did today. You'll need a physical therapy regimen, but I don't imagine you plan to continue your treatment in Konohagakure?"

"Not likely," Aiko said shortly. She took the proffered crutch and tried to stand. Mm, not fun, and not dignified. Lovely. But… she cast a guilty look back at the medical ninja filling out paperwork with a hard set to her mouth. "Thank you," she said, without looking back. "for your time and care. I'll keep your advice in mind."

The older woman was silent for a moment. "I'll have the relevant information sent to the general hospital in Kirigakure."

'Good fucking luck. I seriously doubt they've prioritized emergency generator power to non-essential functions like the fax machine.'

Sanbi snorted, but it really wasn't funny at all.

Inoichi was waiting outside the hospital door, because of course he was.

"Puppies," Aiko said shortly. She glanced down to watch the crutch's placement, trying to find a rhythm. At least the rubber-tipped aid was quiet on the tile floor.

He gave her a perturbed look. "Your students have been located in good health, but they must go through some questioning before we can release them into your custody. I regret to say that it might take some time to compile a timeline on their actions and conduct interviews on the events of the day."

'They do have the right to secure foreigners involved in combat in their city. They can't do much to a foreign head of state without litigation, but the rank and file don't have that kind of protection.'

"A power play?" Sanbi questioned. "Retaliation for the Konoha ninja who you have in custody?"

Probably. But they would also genuinely take the opportunity to try to gather information about the new state of affairs in Kirigakure, and genin were easy targets. If three genin who had spent an extended amount of time in close contact with the new, unknown Mizukage fell in their lap? Yes. Konoha was not going to pass on their right to keep them in custody for a time.

"I still need to see them."

"Of course." Inoichi sounded businesslike. "It will have to come after your meeting with Hokage-sama, I'm afraid."

She gave in and rubbed at her temple. She should have stopped walking, because she lost her rhythm with the crutch and put way too much weight on the bad hip. Two hairline fractures- it wasn't exactly debilitating, but the Nidaime had a good kick.

'He was actually pretty cool. 9/10, dreamiest Hokage to date.'

"Oh?" Sanbi asked, sounding as if he was just indulging her. "Why is that statement so deliberately open?"

'Tsunade is still out there somewhere,' Aiko pointed out. 'She might never become Hokage if dad takes the job back, but you can't forget her. She's there. Somewhere. And she's so crush-worthy. You'll see.'

There was a shocked silence in response, which was the kind of thought that really made her wonder about how insane her life had become. It used to be that a lack of conversation was normal in her head.

"Dad." Sanbi said. "Dad?" His voice raised in question. "You cannot possibly mean."

'I do mean.'

He took a moment to consider this. "Your life is very odd."

It was hard to disagree with that. She couldn't even work up indignation. She mostly felt resigned to it.

And on that topic, she needed to figure out a working strategy for Minato, and now. And that was kinda hard to do without knowing what he would know about her and how that would affect his response to her. Three options came to mind-

Option one- He was the Minato from this timeline, and he had miraculously identified her despite having only seen her on the day of her birth.

This theory was interesting, if only because it would prove that she had been born, but that somehow no one knew about her or what had happened to her. Except that would require him to have still somehow encountered another version of her in Rouran, because she didn't know what other encounter he could have been referencing when he'd accused her of treating him unfairly.

So this premise would be contingent on a timeline existing where she had been born, disappeared from public Konoha in unknown circumstances, and then still had a time-traveling incident that would have allowed him to meet her as a teenager and have a disagreement. And was either dead now or in an undisclosed location, being very quiet and pretending she did not exist.

"Unlikely," Sanbi agreed. "Your demonstrated skills are not heavily weighted towards quietly sitting out of sight. Assuming that we use the premise that you are not mad and have actually originated in another timeline, it seems most likely that you are the only version of yourself in this world."

'I'm fairly attached to that premise.'

Option two- He was the Minato from her timeline, and he remembered her only from the context of their meeting in Rouran, as well as who she was in relation to him.

"Your life is strange," Sanbi repeated sullenly. "What is Rouran? Were you of a comparable age, such that his instant recognition would be likely?"

She'd been … fifteen? He'd probably make that connection, yeah. But if that was how he recognized her, it was odd that he hadn't expressed the slightest surprise at her eyes. That was why she was leaning towards…

Option three- He was the Minato from her timeline, he must still remember their encounter in Rouran, but he also had knowledge of her beyond that. Because at this point, she was not ruling out the possibility that he would have been able to somehow watch over her life from death.

'It's possible that he was either overwhelmed and genuinely didn't notice the Rinnegan, or that he concealed any reaction,' Aiko admitted in the interest of fairness. 'But…'

"This final theory would introduce the most uncertainty." Sanbi hummed. "You have no way of supposing what knowledge he might have of your motivations and history, or how sympathetic he may be."

'The scenario that makes my life hardest is probably the right one. So he's probably been watching me from the afterlife, but, like, only at the times that I make the worst decisions. Because fuck me, that's why.'

Sanbi didn't disagree, which was as good as agreeing, really.

Inoichi cleared his throat. She tore her attention back to the outside world enough to realize that he was giving her a hard look, and that they were standing outside the correct meeting room.

"You forgot to let him lead you," Sanbi guessed.

'At this point, I don't give a shit.' She ignored the byplay and slid the door open. Ugh, she was the first one there. She hobbled to a chair and sat as gracefully as possible. The crutch clacked when she leaned it against the table. She eyed it resentfully.

"It will make your life easier," Sanbi said, in an entirely reasonable tone. "It will take me several hours to repair the damage to your leg, unless you stop using my energy for your eyes. In the meantime, it is good for you to use this tool."

'I'm going to use it for evil,' she thought back impulsively. And then she considered the idea. Huh. There was potential, there.

Sanbi seemed more baffled than anything. He chose not to offer a response.

"Can I offer you a drink while you wait?" Inoichi asked.

Aiko grimaced through the pounding of her head. "Coffee, please, if there is a god."

He raised his eyebrows. "I'll see what can be done." He leaned out the door, and must have signaled someone. She tuned out of whatever conversation was going on.

It turned out that the breakroom coffee machine was a casualty of the invasion, because Orochimaru was the actual fucking worst. But someone managed to procure a cup of truly vile instant coffee. It was brought in a white mug with designs of fish and black cats. She suspected that it had been stolen off someone's desk. She finished it in approximately two minutes and watched it be taken away sorrowfully.

The next person to come by was the Hokage's actual assistant, a bit ruffled, but carrying an actual tea set. She set it down and whisked out the door as Minato and the Sandaime entered.

From their faces, she might not have known that this was anything more interesting than a meeting with accounting.

"Let's make this quick." Aiko wrapped her hands around her tea. Her fingertips were numb. "I've got cake to order, and you just can't get anything after 4. Isn't that outrageous? How am I supposed to feed my family if I can't get cake after working normal office hours?"

She received a long-suffering look in response from her dad, but no one took the bait of the distraction. Which was fair, but it was also true that bakeries had shit hours of operation.

Minato sat down across from her, which was clearly closer than the Sandaime would have liked. The acting Hokage remained standing, arms crossed.

"Aiko-san," Minato tried. His nose wrinkled, as though he didn't like the way the honorific tasted. "It seems fairly clear that you and your team offered your assistance to Konohagakure today, so the first order is to extend my official thanks."

"Yours," Aiko said, which was rude but she was feeling cranky. She looked at the Sandaime. "Not the Hokage's?"

Minato's mouth opened and then he looked befuddled. Perhaps he'd forgotten the awkward situation.

The old man gave a wry smile, as if he couldn't quite help it. "Until such a time as Minato-san crumbles into dust or reveals himself to be a tool of Orochimaru, you may assume he speaks with the weight of our shared office."

Okay, then. If that worry was on the table, then Kakashi hadn't killed Orochimaru. Not that she'd expected he would. He needed to get stronger here to be able to keep up with the type of shit that was coming.

"I take it that Orochimaru got away, then?" Aiko snorted. "It'd be hard to imagine how Orochimaru could be controlling Minato-san, unless he's playing a really long game." She paused. "One I would almost have to be in on. Do you think there's a chance that we're cooperating?"

'Fat chance. Neither of us would have engineered a conflict that embarrassing.'

The Sandaime's expression didn't say anything in particular.

She gave a humorless laugh. "I suppose it's plausible enough, if you assume he would be willing to endure the humiliations of deliberately failing in his invasion, and of turning tail to run from a fight. I'd also have to be dedicated enough to this ploy to let the Nidaime take something dear to me." Her expression flattened.

Minato didn't look confused, which was a good sign that he had been briefed already on what had happened before his resurrection. Well. Of course he had.

"A pity." The Sandaime gave her a friendly smile that she didn't believe in the slightest. "It's conceivable that in the case of such a plot, you might have contrived with Orochimaru in order to retain possession of the Ichibi."

The Sanbi made a horrific scraping sound that might have been his version of a chuckle.

She didn't know what the Sandaime would make of the smile on her lips, but there was no point in hiding it. She leaned forward and lowered her tone. "I assure you, that's not the case." She shrugged with one shoulder. "I have a novel idea." Her voice was dry. "How about I help you bring your rogue to justice. That should demonstrate that I have no desire to take advantage of your weakened state."

"Wholly selfless," the Sandaime agreed in just as dry a tone. "After all, why would anyone think you had a cause to turn on Orochimaru?"

Aside from the very public and scary marching orders from the god of death, yeah, yeah.

Minato coughed, and drew her attention back to him. He looked sheepish. "Well, I can see how it would benefit both of our interests to form a task force to apprehend Orochimaru, and I thank you for opening the process. But Sunagakure is, of course, interested in reacquiring the Ichibi. It is difficult to promise that anything recovered from Orochimaru might be able to go with Kirigakure."

'Can't help but notice you didn't actually say you had intention of getting the Ichibi back to Suna. Subtle.'

She gave him an unimpressed look. "Oh wow, it's almost like it would help my public image to disclaim any right to the contents of the scroll that was stolen from me."

"It would remove the tinge of implication that your actions were out of self-interest," the Sandaime said, as if he'd just thought of it.

"You can't expect me to agree to that." Aiko crossed her arms. "I've already told you that the contents of that scroll are of great value to me, and it was, as I said, very publicly witnessed that it was stolen from my possession. What claim could Konoha have?"

"Uzumaki." Sanbi sounded pained. "They will destroy you once your treachery is discovered."

"This isn't about Konohagakure," Sandaime said, reasonably. "But come now, the contents of that scroll are valuable to more interested parties." He paused. "For obvious and varied reasons."

'Maybe,' she allowed. 'But until then, what else can I do? Tell them I've got Gaara? I need to buy time.'

"My interest in that scroll is purely sentimental," Aiko said primly. "I can't speak for anyone else and what base concerns might motivate them to chase it."

It was highly selective enough to be entirely accurate, but also sound like she was accusing them of being power-hungry. There was an awkward silence.

"I'm certain we will all laugh about this one day," Sanbi sighed.

"I think that terms of our cooperation might be resolved at a later date." The Sandaime's tone was final. "We will also have discussion regarding the other issues at hand facing our countries' relations. Congratulations must be extended, Mizukage-sama. And I am interested to hear how the amusing coincidence of your presence in Konoha came about." He gave her a thin smile. "But for now, I think we are finished. You will be taken to meet your students, although I regret to inform you that they must remain for a time. From there, I have prepared an escort to take you back to your country, as a courtesy. I have no intention of rudeness, of course, but you may observe that Konohagakure is in no state to host such a prestigious guest." His body language indicated the discussion was over.

"I'd hate to inconvenience you," she answered just as coldly. Aiko managed a smile and let go of the tea. She hadn't drank anything. "Let's agree to a discussion at a later date. I can return at any time- a week?"

"Surely that is not enough time for you to deal with affairs at home." He raised a hand, and four ANBU entered the room. One of them turned his mask towards her expectantly. "It must be very difficult to go such a time without being in your office. Kirigakure will need your presence."

"Oh, we're fine." She used the crutch to lever her weight up, which made her feel approximately one million years old and cranky about it. "You'll be amused, I'm sure, to know that I have technology that makes the trip less onerous." Aiko glanced at Minato. "Free information, because we are such good friends." And because he would definitely know about her hiraishin, even in the most conservative estimate of his knowledge.

"The 18th will be fine," Minato cut them off. "I would like to address the issue of Orochimaru as soon as possible. Please have your proposal of resources prepared when you return."

"The 17th," Aiko disagreed. She gave her dad a thin smile. "Konohagakure's policy is that foreigner military personnel may be held in custody for 8 days without criminal charges, so I will save you the inconvenience of providing separate housing for my changes and I for that day."

"That would be the 18th," Minato disagreed with a smile.

"I left them in custody of a jounin in good standing of Konohagakure before noon," Aiko said, just as pleasantly. "It remains Accounting policy that six or more business hours is counted as a day, does it not?"

Minato's face twitched. "We'll confirm that and get back to you."

"Maito Gai," Aiko provided, as though he'd asked what jounin she'd trusted. "You're welcome." She followed the ANBU out. "It's been a pleasure."

"The pleasure was mine, I'm certain. Have a safe trip home." His tone was bland irritation, but she thought she caught a flash of amusement in his eyes. He was probably looking forward to a more private conversation as much as she was.

She resisted the impulse to stick her tongue out as a parting gesture. The ANBU ringed her in a diamond as they began walking, so it would have been impossible to keep at least one of them from seeing it.

"Thank you."

'I didn't do that because you'd want me to,' Aiko thought defensively. 'I make mature decisions on my own, you know.'

"Like surprise adoptions?" Sanbi asked archly.

She grimaced. 'I've almost gotten away with that. And I've wrangled a meeting with the Hokage- a Hokage who might be even more amiable to working with me than I could have hoped, assuming dad doesn't drop dead in the next week. I haven't done that badly.'

"None of your children died, even a little," Sanbi agreed. "And there are many witnesses to your actions today. Actions that might, from Konohagakure's perspective, even be considered heroic." His tone was grudging approval. "Once they have compiled reports and ascertained what you have done today, you are likely to receive the aid you have hoped for."

'Wildcard,' she rejected glumly. 'Sunagakure- will Konoha try to placate them, or take a hard line? Helping Gaara desert has probably changed their likelihood of aggression. They'll be demoralized.'

Sanbi took a moment to consider that one. "I would think that they would be less aggressive, with one of their most powerful shinobi missing."

'Yes.' She frowned. 'That's the problem. They're more likely to beg, and have an even better argument that they were tricked and that this fiasco didn't benefit them. Some elements in Konoha will want to kidnap the Ichibi, but my dad and the Sandaime are more likely to think about returning the balance of power to the predictable stasis, as well as ensuring a better relationship with the nation at their longest border. There's no need to fear Sunagakure, so it's more likely that they'll take pity.'

"Pity which we deserve."

Her nose wrinkled.

Pity wasn't it, exactly. She had other irons on the fire- diplomatic relations with Nadeshiko and Iron that were keeping them afloat while Kirigakure patched up the holes in the hull.

"Your metaphors need work."

'Your face needs work.'

"It's true," Sanbi agreed placidly. "I am not known for my beauty."

Well. Now she felt kinda bad.

She shrugged away from responding to that, which made putting the crutch down awkward. Actually- "Can we slow down?" Aiko balanced on her good foot long enough to jab at the ANBU on her right with her crutch. She was actually a step in front of him, so it was basically like a clothesline at shin-height.

ANBU Hawk dodged masterfully, which in this case meant flinging his left leg over in a goosestep and hopping mightily on his right. Good job, Hawk.

"Uzumaki." Sanbi seemed too weary to continue scolding her.

She dismissed it. 'They already know I'm an asshole.'

"I mean," she continued, "Unless one of you hunks wants to carry me. That would also be okay." She made an experimental jab at the ANBU directly in front of her, a sideswipe at her ankles. Gecko, maybe? Gecko got her right leg out of the way, but she didn't manage to move fast enough to keep Aiko from bringing the crutch to smack against her left leg.

"I'm an invalid," Aiko continued. She'd stopped using the crutch to walk completely- she was just hopping on her good leg. When they stopped walking, she cheerfully raised the crutch up over her head and cast a speculative eye over her escort. The three ANBU she could see tensed.

No one made a move to gallantly pick Aiko up.

She gave a disgusted sigh. "I'm a delicate flower. Wilting."

"You have been keeping pace," Tiger observed in a monotone from behind. Probably because he thought he was safe. "Perhaps you might make it the remainder of the trip unassisted, though you are weary."

Aiko rolled her eyes. "I'm silently enduring because I'm that kind of person. But actually, I'm suffering because of your callous actions." She used her body weight to spin around and jab at Tiger- who was suddenly four feet further back. "Nice shunshin," she commented. "No residual movement in your hair or anything. Very neat." She lunged forward unexpectedly and nearly pinned his left foot. It was hard to tell with his mask, but she thought that he was making eye contact. "But your reaction speed needs work."

Someone said, "Oh, god," very quietly. It was a familiar voice that she wasn't interested in hearing.

Aiko glanced up- "Oh." Her nose wrinkled. "It's you." She straightened her back with a quiet dignity.

Genma gave the scene a slow, pointed once-over as she retracted her crutch.

Hawk ducked his head.

Genma's lip curled up in obvious amusement. He made a "zipping my mouth" motion and walked past.

Aiko felt her eyes narrow, because she really hated that guy. She tripped him with her crutch at the last moment.

There was a horrified silence.

She leaned on her crutch as he got back to his feet- gracefully, he actually did get back up well. "Oh dear," she lied very badly. When she jabbed at him, he ducked away in time. "Oops, I'm so clumsy." He caught the crutch as she swung at him from the side. Their eyes met. He looked slightly confounded but as if he was enjoying himself. Aiko smiled back at him and prepared to rip the crutch away and bring it down on his head.

That was the point at which ANBU Gecko wheeled around and swept Aiko off her feet. Surprised, she let go and her hands clasped around the other woman's neck. "Thank you," Aiko said, as imperiously as she could manage. "I was struggling."

"So we saw." Horse took the crutch from Genma. There might have been something smug in his posture at seeing Genma brought down a peg. "You endured well, but perhaps for expediency's sake…"

"Carry on," Tiger said, toneless.

Aiko stretched against the arm pressing into her back, which, wow, she didn't have to see it to know that was all muscle. "Your biceps are amazing," she told Gecko. She extended her toes into a graceful point. "I feel like a princess."

Gecko didn't comment, which was fair enough.

The going was, indeed, a lot faster when she wasn't walking. Aiko was perfectly happy to take a minute to rest, after the hellish day she'd had. The ache in her hip was a little more manageable at this angle. She began to flag a bit- the adrenaline was cutting out. Aiko was aware enough to peer up when she heard a door open.

'It would be for the best if the genin don't realize I'm significantly impaired.'

She sat up. Gecko took the cue and let Aiko down. When she reached out, someone pressed the crutch back into Aiko's hand.

Horse led the way, but when Aiko stepped through the door with Gecko on her heels, Keisuke leapt to his feet so fast that he banged into the table. The other two remained seated, but they were tense as hell.

"Easy," Aiko said mildly. She managed a smile. "How did you like the examinations?"

Yuusaku looked like he was struggling for words, getting them stuck on his split lip.

Ryuusei didn't look up from the tabletop. "I'm not looking forward to retaking it next year."

She snorted. "Let's hope that Gai-san has something nice to say about your performance, then. Perhaps you've earned a field promotion."

Her last student finally lifted his head. There was dried blood along Ryuusei's hairline, and ugly purple swelling around his left eye, a clearly broken nose, and a gash that ran nearly down to his jawline from his brow. The bruising pattern… that came from multiple blows.

Aiko didn't feel the cold settle in her stomach and ache its way up to her heart. She was only aware of the numbing anger as a fact assessed.

She watched strained muscles move at Ryuusei swallowed. His voice struggled out of his throat rough and thin. "I doubt it, sensei."

Her fingers weren't white around the crutch handle, because that was the counterproductive reaction of blind fury. She was holding it like a sword- firm grip, a strong but flexible wrist, and sinews ready all the way to her strong back muscles. "Is whoever did that dead?"

Keisuke glanced at his teammate and then away just as quickly. "No." He sat down.

"They're going to be," Yuusaku promised.

"Good," Aiko said, keeping her tone as light as she could. "Maybe that'll be what I promote you for." She lifted her chin and made eye contact with her students one-by-one. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay as guests in Konoha for seven more days, as they attempt to reconstruct what happened. I'll be back on the 17th and take you all home. Do you understand?"

"Of course," Keisuke said, as Yuusaku murmured a yes. Ryuusei remained silent.

"I'll be back," Aiko repeated. She gave the ANBU a dismissive glance, signaling to everyone in the room that she found them toothless. "As we are in a state of peace, Konohagakure will be very friendly. I know Keisuke, at least, will remember your rights." She tilted her head, because that might not be explicit enough to be comforting. "I'm not asking you to endure anything. Konoha will be the perfect hosts, or I'll be back a lot sooner than the 17th."

"Masterfully subtle. The threat was nearly stated."

Tiger straightened. He was probably at least slightly concerned about her sudden upshot in hostility.

She looked at him from under her eyelashes, lids low and disinterested over the Rinnegan. Then she turned her attention back to her students. There was a whole fucking country under her protection, and Minato should know her well enough not to be fucking with what was hers. He had no excuses for mistaking the lengths to which she would go, if he knew half as much as she thought he did.

'These kids are mine. If Konoha tries to strong arm me with them, it won't be me bleeding out.'

Yuusaku met her ringed stare, more trusting than the others. He looked like he might believe her promise to drop everything and cut a bloody hole through Konoha to get them out- but he did, didn't he? He was the only one who had thought to call her for help in the exams.

Sanbi didn't answer. She didn't care.

'But Konoha is not going to let them keep their equipment- they won't have seals to contact me.'

So she held out her hand, palm up, and made deliberate eye contact with her boldest student. It took a moment for Yuusaku to reach out. She clasped his hand and felt some of the hardness on her face gentle.

"You can count on us." Yuusaku's voice came out lower than usual.

That interaction was apparently just innocuous enough in the situation for Tiger to relax and dismiss her statements as protective bravado. The ANBU stiffened right back up when she straightened her index and middle fingers along Yuusaku's wrist and tapped out a familiar seal, but it was too late to do anything about it. The genin gave her a shit-faced smirk that implied he'd known what was coming and enjoyed blind-siding the Konoha nin.

"That's enough," Horse barked. "Time to go."

"Call me," Aiko said mildly, not outwardly returning any of her student's attitude. He'd know what was left unsaid. She withdrew her hand and started for the door before the ANBU could try to physically remove her. She tossed a lazy smile over her shoulder before she stepped out, leaning heavily on her crutch. "Make Mizukage-sensei proud, ne?"

The door closed on any response they might have made. But it was good to make sure they knew what they did and didn't have to protect as secret information.

She walked in painful silence for seven seconds in the middle of her escort. The air was heavy. "ANBU-san?" Aiko asked mildly.

Light glinted off Tiger's mask when he turned his face slightly in her direction.

She bared her teeth at him in what only a total fool might mistake for a smile. "I want to be Konohagakure's friend, you know."

Somehow, he got even tenser.

"Your Hokage knows what I'm capable of." She rolled her neck. "I hope he keeps it in mind, as well as the comfort of my precious students. Thanks for the escort. I'm going to use a more expedient method from here."

Before they could try to restrain her, Aiko pulled herself back to Kirigakure. Her office was still littered with boxes- half-emptied, with supply manifests scattered, both in-going and outgoing correspondence piled according to recipient and what needed to be done with it. The box with her personal seal was quietly waiting in front of her chair.

She looked at it all, for a moment. "Sakurai-san!"

A chair scraped. Moments later, one of her chuunin assistants pushed the door open. "Sakurai-san compiled the reports on that land you asked for, but he's out of the office at the moment."

"Fine." Aiko walked past her, remembered hat this was the woman who usually ended up sorting the mail, and then finally asked- "Your name?"

The woman's jaw tensed. "Mira, Mizukage-sama."

"Where were you working before?" Aiko crossed her arms. "And the other chuunin assigned to my office- Nishigawa, right?"

"I was in ciphers for a time, before my transfer to general administration. Nishikawa-san was liaison to the city council and involved in trade oversight, until-" Mira was struggling to find either the information or a way to phrase it, so Aiko waved the topic away.

"Alright, that's fine. You've been receiving all international mail, yes?" Aiko's tone might have been harder than she'd meant.

Mira looked a bit pale. "Yes, Mizukage-sama."

"I met someone interesting in Konohagakure," Aiko said conversationally. "He claimed he had been sending letters to this office. It might have been a joke, of course. I certainly haven't been getting those letters." She let her mouth move into what approximated a smile. "I hope you recall to whom you report, Mira-san."

The older woman might not have been breathing, brown eyes huge in her face. "Yes, Mizukage-sama."

"Keep that in mind." Aiko unfolded her arms. "I'll take my correspondence at home tonight, I have a guest. Please make the necessary arrangements." When she began walking down the corridor, her assistant clattered to keep up. "I'll want to see Utakata, Terumi, and Tazuna, in that order. Send the first two to me and let me know where the bridge builder will be when I need him. Oh- I'll want Sakurai-san there as well. Is he with Tazuna?"

"I will find out," Mira promised stiffly. "Will that be all?"

Aiko gave her a nod. "For now." She left the office by the conventional way, head high and apparently oblivious to the way that people stopped working to watch her. She'd been out of her city too long, too often.

Her lips thinned. She scanned the streets for an appropriate venue- okonomiyaki couldn't be transported, no, no, same problem with yakiniku- she veered into a hole in the wall that advertised udon.

"Good afternoon."

The receptionist dropped his menu.

Aiko pretended not to notice. "I'd like to place an order for takeout. Is that-"

"Of course!" He scrambled for his notepad. The conversations of diners in booths went on, out of sight. "What can I get for you?"

When her order was placed, she leaned against the entrance to wait. It didn't take long for her bags to be brought out, light blue plastic steaming from the bowls within. The server gave her crutch an alarmed look but didn't try to protest when she hefted the bags in her free arm. She took a brisk walk down the street to the home she had requisitioned from her unfortunate predecessor. "Tadaima!"

There was a long pause before Gaara said "Okaeri," from somewhere inside the house. The tone might have been sullen, or just uncertain.

"I picked up dinner," Aiko said flippantly, and put the bags on the kitchen table. The genin didn't venture into the room, but she knew he was listening to her move about. "I got you a soda, but I'll put tea on as well. I'll be working from home tonight- you're welcome to sit with me in the parlour, or I can have someone show you around town, or you may simply amuse yourself anywhere in the house. You find anything you like in the library?"

He edged into the room with already crossed arms sometime while she was filling the kettle. When she turned around to put it on the heater, he watched silently.

That was fine. "Dinner is soup, not particularly nutritious, I'm afraid." She pulled down nicer bowls from the cabinet, because she was not eating her first dinner with Gaara out of styrofoam. "Please pull out three spoons from that drawer over there?"

"Three."

It wasn't a question, but she answered it anyway. "Utakata, my friend and adviser." Aiko looked at the food again, and then looked into the fridge. That was a lot more difficult than it sounded- leaning down when using a crutch as balance was an interesting test. There wasn't enough variety in the fridge for a decent salad, really, but… She pulled out one of the good, sweet onions, a plastic bag with half of a red pepper, and a quarter of a cabbage wrapped in paper. "Pull out the cutting board while I rinse this, please. The yellow one- the pink one is only for meat."

Gaara seemed frankly baffled, but he did as he was told. He looked on, deeply suspicious, as she sliced vegetables and arranged them onto three plates. But when she went back to the fridge to see if there was any dressing, she saw he had set out chopsticks while her back had been turned. She gave him a smile. He looked away.

"I found goma and ceasar." She put them both on the table- and then the doorbell rang. Gaara tensed- and his shoulders went up even further when the hot water in the kettle began whistling. "Put tea on, please."

She turned away, as though she was absolutely certain he would do as she asked. The strategy seemed to work- she heard the cupboard open and close as she opened the door.

Mira was there with a box of papers in her left arm, a clipboard on her right, and a genin assistant holding a larger box behind her. Aiko stepped to the side to let them in.

"Put that all in the side room there, thank you." She watched them set it down. "Thank you, that's fine. Mira-san, I imagine you have work to do, but may I borrow-"

"Hirai Noa," the genin said, a bit too hastily. She had the biggest puppy eyes Aiko had ever seen on a human before.

"Right. Hirai-san, I'd like an order placed and brought here during my meeting with Utakata-san." She made eye contact with the genin and then with Mira- both seemed perfectly accepting. "Gaara," Aiko called. "Cake preferences?"

Mira professionally concealed any reaction, but the younger shinobi was fascinated when Gaara's sullen mug came into view.

"No."

"Right." Aiko dug out her wallet. "Let's get two cakes for here, then- something chocolate, and then why don't you pick something that looks interesting, Hirai-san? Two cakes here, and then- how many people are in the office today- the full thirty?" At Mira's nod, Aiko flicked her gaze up and did some quick estimates. "If you can get sheet cakes, two will do for the office, if not go on the bakery's serving recommendation. I think we all need a treat at this point." She handed the genin two large bills and didn't say anything about the slightly sick expression the child had at holding that much money. "For the change- put half into the office coffee fund. Hirai-san, restoring that can be your responsibility. Keep the last portion as the seed for a discretionary fund."

"Right." The girl seemed a bit overwhelmed. "I- of course, Mizukage-sama." she recovered with a bow. "At once. Will that be all?"

Aiko raised a eyebrow. "I think that will keep you busy until 6, but if not, of course report back to Mira-san. Thank you." Utakata came to the door as she was ushering her staff out. He waited politely for the entry hall to clear before stepping in.

His face did freeze when he saw Gaara lurking in the hall.

"Mizukage-sama."

Aiko pretended not to notice that there was both censure and question in that tone. "Utakata, meet Gaara. Gaara, Utakata."

Utakata recovered well and gave a bow. "A pleasure."

Gaara gave him a black look. He didn't say anything.

She almost felt a smile well up, but her mood was too black. "Dinner is on the table, come on. I want to hear about our Konoha guests, the progress on getting people back to work although I have to say it looks good, and then to hear your thoughts about the situation in Konohagakure."

Utakata let her bully him into sitting down, but he gave Gaara a perturbed expression. "Mizukage-sama," he began.

"Eat your vegetables, they're good for you." Aiko dashed on some goma dressing and passed it to Gaara. He took a moment before reaching out to accept it, and then examined the bottle with a line between his brow. Utakata watched this interaction with a long-suffering expression.

Aiko saw the exact moment when her friend gave up on finding a way to interfere on either Gaara or the salad's behalf. She gave him a smirk and then busied herself with pouring tea.

Utakata sighed. "I'd like that dressing once you're done, Gaara-san."

"Don't be so distant," Aiko said. "That's my kid, you should be friendlier. Right, Gaara?"

He looked alarmed. But he didn't deny it, so.

"Did you steal that child?" Utakata's pitch shot up. "Aiko-"

"Don't be ridiculous." She scowled at him. "A person can't be stolen. It's kidnapping if you take a person against their will."

Utakata did not seem to appreciate the correction.

"But Gaara chose to come with me. He can choose to go elsewhere, of course, but he's here now." She nodded at the genin, acknowledging that they were talking about him while he was in the room. "And he's going to use that dressing quickly, because someone else is waiting for it." She let a warning tone edge into her voice.

Gaara upended the bottle over his sad little salad, let far too much plop out on the center of the vegetables, and mechanically passed it to Utakata. The lines on his forehead were as deep as Aiko had ever seen them.

"Thank you," Aiko stressed.

"Thank you," Utakata obediently parroted. He very pointedly poured his salad dressing in a normal, restrained manner, because he was finally catching on.

"Is this how human adults model behavior for their young?" Sanbi sounded curious, for once. "None of my hosts have had eggs."

'It's how I taught Naruto. It'll be good enough for Gaara. I mean, I'm being a bit heavy-handed, but Gaara has clearly not been well-socialized before now.' She finished her tea and began picking at her salad.

"So." Utakata put his chopsticks down to speak. "Gaara-kun. How do you know Aiko?"

Aiko raised an eyebrow and met Gaara's black stare.

He didn't say anything.

She pointedly tugged at her own red hair as a cue.

His expression didn't change.

So she rescued him. "He's my son, of course." Aiko said airily. "You were just saying that I must be secretly very old, yes?"

Utakata made an insultingly genuine sound of contemplation. "Ah, of course. But what if you are in fact 19, as you have previously stated?"

She raised some cabbage in a toast. "Then he's my brother."

"You have to pick one," Utakata argued. "You cannot argue that you are simultaneously 19 and 42."

Aiko didn't dignify that idiocy with a rebuke, because clearly, she didn't have to do anything she didn't want to. She ate the cabbage in one huge mouthful.

Utakata seemed to decide it was best to ignore her. "Gaara-kun, how old are you?"

He was met with the same black stare as before.

Utakata narrowed his eyes back. They remained in silence for a solid ten seconds.

Aiko finished her salad and started in on her soup.

"Do you like dogs?" Utakata tried.

Gaara's expression finally changed, although it wasn't to anything more flattering than his 'you are below me and I shan't respond' bleakness. It was a bit disbelieving, actually.

Aiko agreed. "Of course he does, he's my ambiguously defined relative, after all. We all like dogs." She stacked her empty bowl on her salad plate and pushed back her chair. "I'm putting coffee on- I'm afraid you're not old enough to drink that, Gaara, but there's still some juice and there's always tea. Hurry up and finish, both of you." She put a filter in the machine and looked at the coffee, as though it might remind her how much was meant to go in the machine.

The coffee said nothing, so she just dumped a bunch in and flipped the machine on.

When she turned around, Gaara's food was gone and he was giving Utakata a look that might have been slightest bit smug. Utakata was sneering slightly, nose up.

'Right….'

"I'm going to start sorting through my correspondence, please feel free to join me in the other room when you're done." Aiko put her dishes in the sink and washed her hands. "I'm a day behind, since I got busy in Konohagakure."

Nadeshiko was requesting an extra escort next week for a rice shipment due to troubles on the road.

Mifune wanted a private meeting.

Nadeshiko- again? Ah, it was regarding the implementation of diplomats in residence, that was why it was sent separately. They wanted to send someone by the name of Fumiko, and requested someone to be assigned to Nadeshiko with authority to speak on minor matters. That was sensible, but god, who would she trust with that? She'd have to puzzle that out later.

A report about the proposed tax rates on mission payments- Aiko grimaced. It would hurt to lower the rates- they desperately needed the money for social projects and infrastructure. But the prohibitively high costs that had been grinding down Kirigakure's workers had to be ended as soon as possible if people were to have any trust in her at all.

'We'll have to make the money by getting more and better-paying missions. For which we need international cache, and wealthy clients, and …'

She stamped her approval and set it aside.

Utakata settled into the chair across from her at the small table, setting down a collection of folders. He kept a clipboard in his hands. "Scintillating?"

"Of course." She put the clip back on the master in-pile and set everything off to the side to give him her full attention. "Is there something you'd like to begin with?"

Utakata pursed his lips and ran a finger down his paper. "Tazuna-san has been directing the completion of the harbor lock in person, but a 3-man crew from his workers succeeded today in repairing the pedestrian bridge in the southern sector. It is now safe, and the area has been opened to the public. I believe that they are now taking a survey of the damage at the fallen bridge and will consult with Tazuna-san as to drafting a replacement. I thought to pull three or four genin teams to work under Sakurai-san's supervision and Tazuna-san's direction to assist in clearing the ruined materials so that the replacement may begin in a timely manner." He glanced up at her for approval.

Aiko leaned back and crossed her legs at the knee. "That sounds thorough. I'll be meeting with Sakurai-san later- what comments do you have about his performance?"

His sleeve slipped enough to show shoulder when Utakata shrugged gracefully. "He has acquitted himself with professionalism and tact in managing such a volatile personality as Tazuna-san and coordinating several groups of contracted workers. Why do you ask?"

She gave him a wry smile. "I think it's past time to try to untangle the mixed chains of command, isn't it? I'll be taking some projects away from you and Mei and promoting a few people to take more responsibilities. What we're doing now is not sustainable."

"It is not." Utakata stood. "We left the coffee in the other room. Please excuse me for a moment."

Aiko craned her neck to watch him walk off. "Does that bother you?" She raised her volume slightly to be sure he could hear her from the other room.

"It does not." She heard the fridge opening. "It will be a relief to have some more permanent arrangements designed." Metal clinked. After a few moments, he came back into sight with a tray- milk, sugar, coffee, spoons, and cups.

"You're my favorite." Aiko uncrossed her legs to lean forward and make herself a cup. When she looked up, she caught Utakata watching her with a fond expression. He quickly straightened his features.

She hid her own face behind her coffee.

There just wasn't… there wasn't the time or distance for that. She couldn't afford to compromise her working relationship with her only friend in the world.

"What, exactly, did you have in mind for Sakurai-san?" Utakata sounded aloof. He was a professional like that.

"I'll talk to him first, but as you've noted, he's very organized, efficient, and good at managing even difficult personalities." Aiko toasted the absent tokubetsu jounin. "He's ambitious- he's clearly very interested in acquiring the skills he needs to do whatever I want him to do. But he's picked up quite a bit from this recent project. I'm thinking about giving him the opportunity to accept an appointment as a sort of Trade Minister- projects like the docks and warehouses in that area would be under his purview, as well as collecting information to help set policy for outgoing and ingoing trade with international partners. What do you think?"

Utakata mulled it over. "That would take Tazuna's projects going forward out of Sakurai-san's jurisdiction. Who would be overseeing the rest of the infrastructure work?"

She took a fortifying sip before answering. "For now, you," Aiko answered honestly. "I'm thinking of positioning you as a sort of public welfare minister- you'll be the absolute top of the Education system, any Social Welfare programs we might institute, and Public works and infrastructure. Essentially, you'll be the upmost management of three areas, to Sakurai-san's one. But that's still lessening your workload. I'll be rearranging our staff to separate our resources along those lines- currently, we've got far too many people who report to both you and Mei, or me and Mei, or some combination thereof."

"Why, pray tell, have I been given these particular roles?" He arched a brow.

"I'm not totally certain that infrastructure needs to be under your purview," Aiko admitted. "Mei has an interest in that, I think. But giving that to you would give you more power to institute some of the social organizations that I think would help with developing our international soft power and raising our standard of living. Mei has… indicated that this is an area in which we have a philosophical break. I'm giving you the areas which will shape and direct our future influence."

"And allow Terumi-san to direct her energies to current events and safeguarding our present," Utakata finished. "I see. There does seem to be lesser likelihood of insurmountable philosophical difference in those regards that would impede a working relationship."

"Does that mean you'll take it?" Aiko tilted her head.

He looked to the side. "Do not be foolish. Of course I shall. I do notice that this breakdown might seem to conveniently give me the power to wield- soft power, as you said, in order to cultivate even international relationships and programs?"

She gave him a smile. "Fancy that."

"Indeed." Utakata made a sharp mark with a pen on his clipboard. "Gaara-kun, please feel free to take a seat."

The genin didn't look up, uncross his arms, or stop leaning against the back wall at the far end of the room.

"As long as you know you're welcome any time," Aiko said mildly. "But it's just fine if you prefer to stand. Utakata, in regards to the education aspect-"

"I believe we have full enrollment now, of the children from ages 4 to 10. A s suggested, I have found several recently retired teachers to help with the basic curriculum." Utakata switched papers and handed her a copy.

Aiko found herself looking at a list of names with headshots. She flipped a few pages- ah, after the personnel, the students were listed. "I'd like to start setting up meetings with the people who had been working at the Academy before, under Yagura, and see if any of them might be useful going forward. Start tracking them down and submit the list to Saito-san: she'll make my appointments and have them summoned in."

"Of course." Utakata let his eyes slide nearly closed. "I have made some inquiries, of course. I'm afraid that the principal has not been seen since before our arrival. No body has been found, but it must be assumed that he has either gone rogue or is a fatality of the incident."

"The Academy's old location was near the administrative center, wasn't it?" It was barely a question.

Utakata eyed her sideways. "Indeed."

Depressing.

"People die," Sanbi said flatly. "Often, when you are around. Let us move along with what you can affect?"

'You are a mean turtle.'

But he did have a good point, and there was something she could do for the living.

"This won't be under your purview going forward, but-" Aiko caught herself. "Actually, I'll take that project myself. I apologize."

"What are you thinking about?" Utakata ran a hand down his hair.

"The hospitals and general medical system." Aiko watched Utakata's hand move for a moment, mesmerized by how the light from above caught his hair. "Mifune-sama has indicated that there might be an opportunity for some sort of exchange- definitely trade, but possibly workforce and education. I need to know what resources we have, what we need, and to start doing something about our abominable preventative care." She made a face. "I'm glad that we've got a good handle on trauma care, don't get me wrong, but we need systemic immunizations, and treatment for on-going conditions, and dental, and-"

"Very well then," Utakata cut her off. "I see that you are indeed interested in this issue. I will gracefully cede the work."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Speaking of medical care, I begin to wonder if you shall be reducing the chakra flow to your poor eyes at any time."

Her good mood fled. "No," Aiko said shortly. "Do not ask again." She crossed her legs at the ankle. "Let's move on, shall we? How has Chojuro-san been doing?"

Utakata took a moment to respond. "He is competent, but clearly eager to move from organizing introductory education towards implementing a more systemic mentorship program for post-Academy swordsmanship education."

"So later on, that might be a good project to give to him, but for now it would be foolish to promote him. Got it." Aiko finished reading through the names she'd been presented with. She didn't know any of them, of course. Actually - "Do you remember when the jounin confirmed my appointment?" Aiko didn't wait for a response. "There was a young man who stepped forward to protest. Do you know who he is?"

Utakata let his eyebrows raise. "By coincidence of our shared age group, but not well. He was a year ahead of me in the Academy. Is there something you would like to address with him?"

"Well." Aiko paused. "Not in the vengeful way that you're probably thinking, so you can stop thinking about places to leave bodies. I actually remember noting that I was impressed with his candor and poise at the time. I'd like to find out more about him, see his service record, and consider if there's a way he could be utilized."

He relaxed just enough for Aiko to know that yes, he had been wondering if he was going to be filing reports regarding a disappearance. "I will file a request for Saito-san to pull that information, then."

Aiko pursed her lips. "Actually, that would be Mira-san's department."

He gave her a wry look. "I suppose it would be, if you say it is."

"Saito-san is going to retain management of general office staff, mission reports and assignments, and flagging irregularities and recommending promotions and mental health alerts." Aiko bit at her lower lip. "But I think it's better to separate those functions from the high-security archives. I'm not completely certain of how much I trust Mira-san or her assistant yet, but they've been vetted and have the security clearance to manage it. But not everyone working in missions needs that level of clearance- it's best to keep those departments from mixing, don't you think? So I'm taking Mira-san out of Saito-san's management and having her refer directly to me."

"It may work well," he said, which was as good as agreeing. "I suppose that these records may need to go to Mira-san, then, but I was planning on having you check them before sending them to archives in any case." He indicated the reports he had been compiling on his projects. With your permission, then, I will start considering my recommendations for re-staffing the Academy, once we have a physical location once again set aside. Ah- the recent graduates have been doing fairly well in the teams that you selected, but I have two incidents to report. One is property damage related to a mission, the other disciplinary action given for insubordination."

"Thank you, I'll look it over." Aiko took the files without opening them yet. "Would you say that this requires my immediate attention?"

He shook his head. "Within the week should be acceptable."

"I can do that." Aiko put it on the bottom of the slightly depressing pile of matters she needed to sort through. "Would you say that there's any reason we should consider moving the recent graduates away from full-time assignment to the reconstructive efforts?"

"Not yet, but within the month, it would help to reduce burnout. Perhaps arranging periodic missions that would help build experience and skill as breaks from the less stimulating labor," Utakata suggested.

"Un." Aiko nodded. "I also want to commission several public works projects- I''ll talk to you about it later in more detail, but we need to address how bleak the city is. If we use genin to produce the water to fill any lakes, or help to surface public parks and training grounds, for example, it would do double-duty as public works to increase our cultural capital and standard of living while providing opportunity for high-level, sustained elemental jutsu practice. Float the idea, see if anyone jumps?"

He nodded acceptance. "Very well. I can see some merit." He paused. "As well as why this was delegated away from Terumi-san," Utakata said dryly.

Aiko hummed. "I think she's not as opposed to that as you might think," she disagreed, thinking of what she'd seen in another Kirigakure so long ago. Mei did understand the value of soft power, even if she didn't agree with the extent and implementation that Aiko was leaning towards. "But in any case." She shook the thought off. "Thank you for your work. I'm glad to close these projects." She tapped the relevant folders. "It might take some time for me to get through more than the summaries, unfortunately, but I trust your work. Do you have any concerns for me?"

"None that have not been voiced." Utakata looked at Gaara under his eyelashes. The genin was still lurking without comment. "I will be content, however, if we do not encounter any more of your long-lost children or siblings for the month," he said.

Aiko thought about Karin, and how she'd told the younger girl to go to Kirigakure with the claim of being her sister if she needed shelter. "No promises."

Utakata laughed.

She chose not to rock that boat.

The doorbell rang.

Utakata stood. "I will get that."

Aiko gave him an incredulous look and gathered up the crutch. She stood solely on her good leg at first before she could balance her weight on the tool. "It's my house. I answer the door."

His lips thinned. He followed her as she went to the entrance and opened it up. She heard a deep sigh from behind, but Aiko didn't break eye contact with a terrified looking young man holding two white boxes and wearing an apron.

"I have a delivery," he said, but it came out more like a question.

"So you do. Thank you." She reached out. The delivery man gave Utakata a concerned look over her shoulder. She pretended not to see him wavering over whether to give her the boxes or to hand them to Utakata, as her assistant was almost certainly indicating behind her back.

Apparently he feared her displeasure more than he feared she might drop the cakes, since he handed them to her. Aiko balanced the boxes against her hip with her good hand. "It's been paid for, yes?" she checked.

He nodded, turned red, and then bowed deeply. "Yes, Mizukage-sama."

"Right." she gave him a perturbed look. "Is there… anything else?"

He bowed again, nearly bending in half. "No, Mizukage-sama."

'I really need to be seen out around Kirigakure more, so people are less aggressively weird about dealing with me. I am not nearly as mean as they seem to think.'

Aiko stood awkwardly for a moment. "Right, then. Thank you." She stepped back and let the door fall shut.

Utakata sighed again.

She gave him the cake. "Set that down on the table, please. I'll get plating."

"No, you should sit down and get back to reading." Utakata raised his pitch. "Gaara-kun, would you fetch three plates, a knife, and some forks?"

Oh… right. She conceded with a nod. It would get Gaara to actually sit down with them instead of watching from a corner. It was best to get him involved.

That strategy, worked, to an extent. At least Gaara consented to sit. He still didn't speak, but he might have gradually looked less tense as the conversation became more pleasant. The three of them did a downright shocking amount of damage to the two cakes.

As Aiko had noted from her walk through the business district, a lot more shops were opening and civilians returning to the regular work of commerce. She had Nadeshiko to thank for that in large part- people who were not worrying about scrounging and rationing could return to regular restaurant and small business work. The bulk of the clearing and reconstruction of the high priority areas had been done- thank god for Yamato. Undamaged ships were able to use the harbor, despite the finishing touches being completed in the next few days, which meant that they would be able to meet some deadlines for shipping contracts with the outer islands in coming days.

Raidou had been a suspiciously compliant prisoner, but he was a set of strong arms that hadn't done anything subversive yet. That didn't mean he would be moved to any projects of significance. They'd need to find something to do with him after rubble had been fully cleared. Sai wasn't awake yet.

And when the conversation turned to Konoha and recent events there, Utakata was… He was…

"Why?" he asked, sounding plaintive. "Why have you done this?"

Aiko looked up at the ceiling. "It wasn't really my fault."

"Did someone else revive the Yondaime-Hokage?" he asked pointedly. "Perhaps it was Ryuusei-kun. That is most typical."

She wrinkled her nose. "I''m kicking the blame for that to Orochimaru, because I don't feel quite confident enough in just blaming the death god. Who is the one who actually did it, by the way." She gritted her teeth. "Konohagakure wants us to commit to a cooperative effort in hunting down Orochimaru, as a show of goodwill." She kept her tone level. "He's run off with the Ichibi, after all."

Gaara raised what would have been an eyebrow on another person.

It took a moment, but Utakata followed her stare and saw the amused expression on her new ward. A tortured comprehension dawned. "Oh, no," he said, very quietly. "No."

She snickered.

"Aiko, no," he said, a little louder.

"Aiko, yes," she countered. "What else can we do?" She shrugged. "I never said that the sealing scroll Orochimaru stole from me had the Ichibi in it, of course. That would be a lie," she said piously.

He gave her an incredibly shitty look.

Aiko took a second slice of the Mont Blanc that had apparently been Noa-san's recommendation. "At least the cake is pretty good, isn't it?"

Gaara grunted agreement.

The meeting had been uncomfortable enough before Jiraiya pushed the door open over a secretary's protestations. Genma clenched his jaw just that much tighter.

"I came when I heard about Orochimaru." Jiraiya swallowed. His voice was lower than usual. "I…"

Kakashi managed to look up long enough to give Jiraiya a commiserating look. Gai shifted just that bit closer to Kakashi.

'I don't know about Asuma, but the rest of them are acting as though it's resolved that this really is the Yondaime and he'll be sticking around. It seems like him, but we're going to need more than my gut feeling to put him back in power.'

Minato-sama managed a weak smile. "I'm glad you came, sensei."

The older man choked. "You—you idiot!" He lurched across the room and grabbed his student's shoulders. Minato let him. Jiraiya grimaced a moment, eyes red. "I can't believe…" His voice trailed off. "Damnit, kid." He hesitated just a moment longer before folding the Yondaime into a hug.

Uncomfortable, Genma averted his eyes. Gai was focused on Kakashi. Asuma remained stone-faced.

It was a painfully long moment until Jiraiya let go. He painted on a smile and ruffled Minato's hair. The Yondaime seemed relieved to duck it with a complaining sound.

"It's getting late," Genma observed. And he would need to report to the Sandaime before long.

Minato cleared his throat.

"Right, right, of course." Jiraiya ran a hand through his hair, and then settled it on his hip. He leaned against the wall. "Sorry it took me a while. You know, the border patrols are passing some odd information." He glanced back at Minato. "I don't know what I would prefer to be accurate. The Sandaime seems to have concluded that you're not being controlled by Orochimaru, so…?" His tone lilted up.

'Orochimaru, yes. Uzumaki? That's less clear.'

Hatake's gritted jaw was obvious even through his mask, but he was the only one of them who'd been witness to this part.

Genma repressed a sigh.

It was like Hatake was trying to get it all out in one breath. "Orochimaru tried and attempted to revive Yondaime-sama when he successfully revived the Nidaime and-"

"What, really?" Jiraiya exclaimed.

Hatake gave the older man a dull, resentful stare. Yondaime-sama was not as subtle with his sidelong glance as he might have been.

'This is ugly.' Genma purposefully yawned. "The Mizukage revived Yondaime-sama, right?"

"The… Mizukage?" Jiraiya seemed more lost. "The Mizukage was in Konoha-" his voice broke off. "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes," Yondaime-sama said grimly.

Jiraiya gave his student a startled look. "Why are you 'oh yes'-ing? I was expressing dismay at the prospect that this Mizukage might be a person of interest I've heard about through one of my contacts." He frowned. "And she was hiding under our noses. Why would you know her?"

The Yondaime gave a tight smile. Conspicuously, he did not give an answer.

"The Uzumaki?" Genma asked, because no one else was keeping this on track. "Female, about 155cm,-"

"Light red hair, flighty, with incredibly suspicious eyes?" the Sannin finished. He rubbed at his face, looking a decade older. "This does lend an interesting new interpretation to what I've been hearing out of Kirigakure. I thought it was propaganda. Definitely didn't see those eyes in person."

Genma eyed the other man. "And you've heard about her in regards to the incident with Gai-san?"

"What?" Jiraiya's glance shifted to the other jounin. "No, I don't know anything about that." He scowled. "What happened?"

"We've already discussed that in detail before you got here." The Yondaime seemed exhausted. "I'll fill you in later. I'm sure you know that people have concerns about the situation."

"Like who this woman is, and what her motivations might be." Genma couldn't quite look at his Hokage dead-on as he said it. But it did need to be said, didn't it? They'd known each other, no one knew how, and they'd tried to hide it.

The Yondaime was his Hokage, and Genma would follow him into death. But he couldn't fail to notice that something stank.

The Sannin, somehow, didn't seem to notice that the Yondaime went too still. He still looked tired. "I knew of someone with eyes like that, once."

"A parent?" Asuma asked.

Jiraiya grimaced. "If so… She could be between 17 and… 20, maybe?" He shook his head. "But I don't think he'd have kept it a secret from me. So assuming that theory is true, she'd be on the younger side and he never had a chance to tell me."

Hatake spoke up, which had to be a goddamn miracle. "There are sometimes good reasons to keep that kind of thing quiet." His eyes tracked to-

'No.' Genma felt cold wash over his back. 'He can't mean what I think he means.'

Hatake didn't—no. He hadn't meant that after all. His tone was dull resentment at worst. But now that the thought had crossed his mind…

'Yondaime-sama and Kushina-sama kept Naruto a secret, right up until the end. That was bold. It shouldn't have worked, but they knew it would. Had they…' A shiver went up his spine and prickled down his legs.

The probable timing that would match the age in her profile would have had her being born in the war. Born in a desperate time. That was familiar, wasn't it?

'Any child of Kushina's would have been hunted, even if no one had known to connect her to a Hokage. Even if the father wasn't Hokage yet, we were in a war over bloodline theft. If Kushina fell pregnant during that war…'

There was nothing especially ominous in that, except in implication. Them having a secret child made sense- that child disappearing for at least a decade and resurfacing as Uzumaki-san was….

Healthy childhoods did not result in shinobi like that. People who didn't trust, people who lacked the capacity to deal with their emotional relationships in healthy ways, people who were always playing a role- that couldn't be what Minato wanted for his child.

And the Yondaime looked at Uzumaki-san like she was an open wound. Uzumaki-san looked at the Yondaime like she didn't know if she wanted to dismiss him as an acquaintance or spit on him.

'And she's a perfect blend of the two.' The pieces fell in his stomach like a rock. How hadn't he noticed? She had Kushina's pale skin, Minato's nose and lips, a facial structure and hair coloring dead in the center of the two. The only thing that didn't fit was the eyes, and there were ways to explain that away.

But Hatake didn't know?

"She's probably really old," Jiraiya said, in a tone so bright it had to be false.

Genma blinked.

"Like Tsunade-sama, you know. They're related." He gave an overly dramatic shrug, palms out. "It might just be an Uzumaki trend to disguise yourself as a hot young babe." The lasciviousness in his voice was probably unfeigned. It was… Genma was man enough to admit that it was merited, but in this theoretical context, it was creepy.

The Yondaime's expression moved to something so close to disgust that Genma couldn't doubt it anymore. Could no one else see this?

As subtly as possible, he looked around the room. Hatake was drowning in his own misery, and Gai was tight-lipped but undoubtedly focused on his friend. The Yondaime- well, he didn't need to follow the clues, and Jiraiya was clearly caught up in something else.

If anyone else knew, it would be Asuma. And that bastard was unreadable.

"Sensei," Yondaime said. His tone wasn't more than stern disapproval, but…

Jiraiya heaved a dramatic sigh. "Fiiiine," he whined. He threw his hands up. "She's a time-traveler! That's it, mystery solved, I'm going to bed." He waited dramatically for a rebuttal that didn't come.

Yondaime-sama looked like he was on the verge of hysterical laughter, eyes too bright. His whole body twitched.

Genma tried not to let his eyebrows crawl too far up his brow. Well. The man had had a rough day. Allowances should be made.

The Yondaime walked over to the nearest desk, sat down, and cradled his head in his hands. He didn't speak.

The Sannin eyed his student a moment. "You're only getting weirder, kid," he remarked. He clapped Yondaime-sama on the back. "I guess I'd better stay, to make sure you don't devolve further."

The Yondaime clearly needed the subject changed, so Genma fished for an alternate theory. "The professional opinion is that her personality profile doesn't support her being above 30 at the absolute most," he drawled.

Hatake pulled his head out of his ass just far enough to give Genma a judgmental look, because the little prick was coming to the obvious conclusion. Genma winked back.

"Uzumaki-san is a formidable foe," Gai spoke up. "One who did not emerge from the universe, fully-formed of dew and the hopes of children."

A…..alright, then.

The Yondaime gave a laugh. It sounded mirthless, but it was a laugh, at least. "No, of course not. People don't just trip and fall in their pajamas into a world with no ties or history. The fact that we cannot pin any history to Uzumaki-san indicates, if anything, that it has been deliberately buried." He managed to lift his face. "She moves like a black ops operative. She's been hiding in Kirigakure that way." He pushed back his chair with a scrape. "Or maybe the story she told about coming from Wave was true." He sounded resigned. "She lived there as a child, probably because her parents were hiding. That would also explain her mysterious background. It's hard to argue against the testimony of so many of the people in the village of her long-standing residence."

"It doesn't fit," Hatake said, voice tight. He didn't bother to back that up.

The Yondaime just looked tired. "Then sit here and think of conspiracy theories. Time travel, that's a good one, but maybe she appears to have come from nowhere because she did. Orochimaru grew her in a test tube for all you know." He rubbed at the back of his neck, wincing. "I'm… I'm calling it a night. I'm not as young as you all, you know."

Hatake winced, which couldn't have been the Yondaime's intention.

The joke was an old one. But now?

'I'm older than the Yondaime,' Genma marveled. 'Fuck.'

That made the fact that Uzumaki-san was probably the man's daughter even harder to wrap his head around. Genma was older than his Hokage, who was old enough to have an adult daughter in Genma's age range.

….That fib, he couldn't completely justify, even in his head. Uzumaki-san mathematically had to be at the very very least 14, but couldn't possibly be older than 24.

'And I'm 30, looking at my 28 year old Hokage, who probably has a 24-year-old daughter. My head hurts. I blame math.'

Jiraiya grinned. "Ancient and decrepit, kid. Speaking of which, I thought you wanted any and all theories exhausted?" He scratched at the small of his back. "She's secretly Uzumaki Mito's spawn. Or Tsunade-hime's, I could see that making an excellent story."

"Kirigakure seems half-convinced she's a divinity," Azuma observed. He smiled with absolutely no amusement. "Hell, I'm not ready to dismiss it. She came out of nowhere with abilities most legends don't have." He huffed. "Probably the offshoot of some long-lost bloodline, of course, but it's hard to imagine she was sitting around in quiet obscurity before this point."

Hatake made an encouraging sound. "Must have been sealed away like a bijuu."

Genma felt his brow wrinkle. The delivery had been flat, but he was fairly certain that was what passed for Hatake's humor?

"A bijuu might be that bizarre," Azuma snarked. He shook his head. "She is slightly off, isn't she? What with the way the… death god…" He glanced at Minato. "..was giving her orders, she might be something from that realm." He grimaced. "That's not really something I feel prepared to deal with."

'She seems human enough to me.'

Jiraiya tilted his head to the side. "I feel like I need a more extensive report," he said neutrally. "Which is it, that she used some unholy technique to do the nearly impossible, or that she's some kind of death spirit? It's a lot easier to track down actual humans, but I suppose there would be something soothing in knowing that we don't have to worry about anyone replicating her stunt with someone like, say, Hanzo the Salamander."

Gai gave everyone present a disappointed look. "Or perhaps she is a shinobi, much like any other, who prefers that her past remain private. My experience has lead me to believe she is competent, dedicated to her comrades, and more noble in action than her flippant words would imply." He crossed his arms.

"Enough."

Genma felt his spine straighten.

"We can't know anything more yet." The Yondaime's eyes were hard blue mirrors. "Go home, all of you."

[agustdblues]

GMMTV 2024 PART 2 (I heard Gmm is letting fans submit stories for adaptations now😭😭 bffr gmm and hire WRITERS)

•US: GL NATION ITS ANOTHER WIN!! EMIBONNIE !!! WITH SING. I couldn’t have asked for a better cast Usually I’m not up for the “siblings having same love interest” typa story but the shots looked so pretty plus P’Fon is doing this series so IM SEATED. They took the best trailer of the night for me !!

•Revamp (The undead story): WabiSabi probably having a bad day rn💀 GMM has two vampire projects now? hmmm which one of them will get pushed back to 2025🤔 Boun is one sexy vampire BounPrem always look good tgt. Aah sooo many familiar faces are in this, I’m looking forward to it

•Thame-Po (Heart that skips a beat): An Idol romance series! Unexpectedly I’m very sold on this EstWilliam are very handsome and something was working there. Sammy is also here🥺 Since real idols will be singing I can expect better performance too☝️

•Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist: Mark getting his well deserved main role. I’ve been waiting for this day!! The plot might be simple but it will be adorable. My pretty (REAL) doctor Jimmy is also in this- most likely to give me a second lead syndrome haha

•The Heart Killers: FirstKhao and JoongDunk with P’Jo. Unlike my impression of the mock, this is a ROMCOM🤡 Yeah the pilot was not clear at all FirstKhao have great chemistry but it just felt like I was seeing SandRay in another universe. On the other hand, JoongDunk have finally made it out of the universities. I heard that it’s gonna be based off The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, which confuses me more. I’m quite skeptical about this

•The Ex-Morning: Who would’ve thought I’d see KristSingto in a bl in 2024😭 It’s so nice to see Singto onscreen again. The rekindling flame theme is ironically suitable for them. Apparently P’Aof is writing the original script with the Sotus director. I’m torn about this cuz I dislike krusty a lot but the nostalgia is kinda hitting me. It’s truly og revival era

•Perfect 10 Liners: Not an ensemble again🤦‍♀️ I was so confused when I saw the huge ass line of actors onstage but it seems like this will be split into 3 parts to focus on all of the cps. So basically it’s Midnight Series but only gay with Jittirain’s mediocre engineering plot💀 Even if I were to watch this it will only be for JuniorMark but no promises made cuz I can’t even bring myself to watch We Are rn

•Ossan’s Love Th: actually I was seeing EarthMix in the opposite roles but Earth being the one stuck in between is much more fresh ig. I cringed a lot while watching this. Idk Earth maybe comedy is not your forte? I won’t be sure until the actual thing will start airing but still the sirens are on🚨

•Scarlet Heart Thailand: Tu is back again in an adaptation after quite a while. They’ve put together a strong cast here but why is Gun not here!?! I’ve neither watched the series nor read the novel but I’ve heard people say it was traumatising🤡 Since it’s a historical setting, this will cost a lot in production I don’t expect this to air until the end of next year

•Leap Day: This is the best one out of the lakorns announced in part 2. Gun is always acting his ass off damn. This show will be stressful asf but the plot is pretty unique. Everyone’s reaction when Pond said Gun is playing his younger brother was so skdjjdj

•Hide & Sis: Janhae in a family murder drama niceee I got some Pretty Little Liars vibes in the start. If you’ve enjoyed PSIHY you’ll probably like this too

•The Dark Dice: Is this Jumanji and Squid Game mixed and made darker?? Prim definitely loves doing thriller shows but I beg of her to get out of that school uniform already💀 and Gemini finally got to put his hands on this genre. I’m not interested at all

•Friendshit Forever: Girl who is coming up with these show names😭 They had me believing it was a gl in the first 30 secs. Ohh Boun welcome my pretty boy. Betrayal game shows are so boring🤷‍♀️

•Break Up Service: So Midnight Motel made even more illegal? It’s funny how I can see the clear distinction in Off and Gun’s solo project styles lol

Right now I can say I’ll watch atleast 3-4 of these shows. Well many of these series won’t be airing until next year considering Part 1 list is still pending to air Overall part 2 was much MUCH better than part 1

[barrenclan]

Redpelt sighed, surprisingly quite content. In the early times of the day, she could relax with her sister, not fretting over clan matters. Calm before the storm, as they say.

Her eyelids began to droop, her head resting against the moss. Her sister was purring next to her, no doubt having a wonderful dream. The rest of the clan won’t be awake for a bit, and the idea of sleeping in longer did sound nice. Maybe just for a few more minutes.

“Redpelt.” “GaCH!” Redpelt yelps, jumping to her paws with bristling fur. Blacknose lets out a little noise as Redpelt taps her head, but Blacknose can sleep through anything.

“Cormorantpaw! Don’t-Don’t startle me like that!” Redpelt scolds, though admittedly she doesn’t sound intimidating. Cormorantpaw stares at her, his gaze unwavering. Does he even blink?

“Sorry,” Cormorantpaw says dully. “Should we start training?”

Redpelt almost cringes at the idea. What if an adder comes out and bites one of them? Or a scorpion! Cootstorm usually isn’t awake this early, and neither is Pinepaw.

“I was thinking we could go closer to the dry areas with not a lot of water. At this time, prey will probably be sunning over there.”

Redpelt lets out an internal sigh of relief. Adders usually don’t hang out there too much. Scorpions do sometimes, but after the Daffodilpaw incident, we do a good job of being more careful! But Cormorantpaw wasn’t around then, so maybe he doesn’t-

“Redpelt?” “Ah! Sorry, Cormorantpaw. Yes, let’s go hunt over there.” Redpelt says, trying her best to keep a cheery tone as she starts heading out of camp.

Cormorantpaw doesn’t usually wake me up for training, she realizes as she walks. Maybe he’s just getting more accustomed to clan life!

But Cormorantpaw seemed off that day. He never quite landed as good as normal after leaps, and more often then not, he missed the prey. Redpelt usually had to jump in and save the catch for him.

He seemed slower, too. He was always checking behind his back, mumbling something about dark. 

“It’s only dawn. It isn’t dark at all.” Redpelt would remind him. He would ignore her.

Redpelt didn’t like to consider herself an angry cat. She considered herself a lot of things, but angry wasn’t one of them.

But Cormorantpaw’s odd.. temper set her off that day. 

The way he would suddenly walk away in the middle of her explaining something to go stare at something in the distance, or would get distracted midway through a catch made her some type of angry.

He’s acting like Pinepaw! Not that that’s a bad thing, of course. Pinepaw is fine. Wait, what if he’s sick?! Oh, and Cootstorm is already stressed enough! He was with Blacknose earlier, what if she gets sick? What if Cootstorm gets sick? What if Mallowstar gets sick and dies? I’m not ready to be leader, I’m not-

Redpelt stops her internal panic when she realizes Cormorantpaw isn’t in front of her, trying to catch a shrew. In fact, the shrew was gone. Along with Cormorantpaw.

Oh, no, the thing that came for Rainhaze is back! Now my apprentice?!

Redpelt turns around to dash back to camp and tell everyone, but freezes. Cormorantpaw is sulking in front of her, sitting on a stone and gazing at something in the distance.

“Cormorantpaw! You gave me a fright for a second. I thought an adder got to ya.” Cormorantpaw just joined. Don’t let him worry over clan things.

“Sorry.” He says quietly. He doesn’t stand up. He was the one who wanted to train today! What’s wrong with him? Okay, how about you try conversation! Yeah, yeah that’ll work!

“What are you looking at?” Redpelt asks, sitting down next to him. He doesn’t reply.

She leans in, trying to focus on whatever it is. It’s a loner, she realizes. Oh! Two loners! And some kits! How sweet! Why is Cormorantpaw staring at that?

“Did you know those cats?” She asks. Maybe those are his parents! And siblings!

“No, at least I don’t think so..”

“Oh. Well, they don’t seem to be bothering any cat, so I’m sure it’s fine.. We don’t have to chase them out. Yet, anyways. Goodness, I hope they don’t turn hostile of anything.. Why are you watching them?”

Cormorantpaw doesn’t reply, seeming lost in thought.

“Y’know, the clan needs more kits. If you ever want any in the future, I’m sure every cat would be-“

“I don’t think I want kits,” Cormorantpaw says, his dull tone mixing with a softer one.

“Oh! Well, that’s fine, but maybe your mind will change! You’ve been spending so much time with Daffodilpaw, so maybe one day you’ll have kits with her!”

Redpelt! Don’t be so harsh on the poor kid! He doesn’t want kits, and that’s fine! Oh, but the clan does need more.. Wait! So what? There are future generations to come, so what if he doesn’t want-

“I think,” Cormorantpaw starts, snapping Redpelt out of her thoughts. “I think I might not even want to be mates with Daffodilpaw. With any she-cat, for that matter. I think I might want to be mates with toms.”

Redpelt’s ears perk slightly, glancing at Cormorantpaw. Cormorantpaw seems to be thinking, his own ears raising up.

“Yeah. Yeah, I.. I think I do like toms. That feels nice to get off my chest.”

“I’m sure it does. Do you want to tell everyone else, or will this be our little secret?” Redpelt asks, smiling lightly.

Cormorantpaw thinks for a moment. “Just our little secret for now.”

Redpelt presses her head on top of Cormorantpaw’s. “That’s fine. Now, come on. We need to get the prey back to camp. Do you think it’s sunbaked by now? Oh, I hope not. What if we didn’t bring enough prey back, and we-“

“It’s fine. We can say we were practicing fighting if so.” Cormorantpaw insists, his dull tone returning as he hops off the rock. He starts to stalk away, but before grabbing his prey, he pauses and turns his head to face Redpelt. “Thanks for.. helping me, I guess. See you later.” He says, grabbing the prey and bounding away.

Redpelt could have sworn he heard her say ‘mom’ after the end.

(mother-son/older sister-younger brother redpelt and cormorantpaw my beloved (not romantic))

AWWH more fanfiction!! This is so adorable <3

I really like the running detail of Redpelt constantly interrupting herself with her spiraling trains of thought. Anxiety will do that to ya.

Her saying that Cormorantpaw is "acting like Pinepaw" is really funny. He's being all weird and distracted... oh, just like that weird little guy. [Seinfeld voice] Not that there's anything wrong with that!

I love how hard you all believe in Cormorantpaw's self-introspection ability, like everyone is pushing at him going "come on buddy, let that one thought ping around to the front". Someday he'll get there, maybe.

Haha, accurately guessing that Cormorantpaw has mommy issues as well as daddy issues. They're just very different types of complexes.

Very nice, thank you!!

[quantum-cat]

The Wait, I've Seen this Scene Somewhere Before Series

You're Viewing - Star Trek Enterprise: S02 E11 Precious Cargo Check Out - Quantum Leap S05 E03: Leaping of the Shrew